GL-Poljica Republic: life and food

Converse with the locals in a small Croatian village and together cook a traditional dish affectionately known as Dalmatian pizza.

After departing from the pier, you will enjoy a picturesque, mostly coastal drive through the Croatian countryside to a traditional village in the Poljica Republic. Upon arriving, you will meet you host and mingle with some of the locals that will be joining you for lunch.

Croatian cuisine in coastal regions often includes seafood such as squid and Adriatic white fish, although heavier stews with lamb and vegetables are also popular. The baked dish peka is another traditional favorite that is slow-cooked “under a bell,” a phrase referring to the dish being cooked in a pot with a bell-shaped lid that is then covered with burning embers.

ce the fire is going, you will join the villagers and together prepare soparnik, a dish so traditional that it is included on Croatia’s list of intangible cultural heritage. Known more familiarly as Dalmatian pizza, soparnik is a meatless dish made with wheat flour, Swiss chard, onion, olive oil, garlic and salt.

You will participate in each step of the process, one of the keys being how the uncooked ingredients are combined and placed between two wooden boards. While the concoction is cooking between the boards in the open hearth, the locals will entertain you with traditional accordion music. In no time, lunch will be served.