Croatia in our mouths

Over the course of our several days in the country, we tried to touch all the main bases of coastal Croatian cuisine. Besides the countless small bakeries selling various bread loaves, pizzas, and small snacks such as the dense roll (pictured) containing marmalade or chocolate, we found a number of salty, semi-hard cheeses and all kinds of prsut. Although prsut is primarily made from pork, we also tried some dry-cured beef, and all of it here was shaved in rather thick slabs and was wonderfully dense -both in flavor and texture. 

I wasn't expecting much from the cheap fried calamari I ordered at a dumpy looking spot across from the ferry landing, but these little bundles of tentacles and rings poofed away in my mouth like delicate clouds. It probably shouldn't have surprised me how great the seafood was here across the board; I guess I've just grown accustomed to what's on offer too far inland all my life. Other ubiquitous dishes here are all kinds of seafood risottos, especially those made with squids and cuttlefish cooked in their own ink.

One of the more fascinating treats in the region is the proliferation of amaro, or bitters. Some were similar to Campari, while others were less sweet and more complex. Most were varying shades of darker brown like cola. All reflected wonderfully some facet of the rosemary herbal-scented and salty air all around us.