Brudet is a fish stew from the Dalmatia region of Croatia. It is similar to Greek Bourdeto and Italian Brodetto, but each dish is unique in its own way. Traditionally, the dish is made with a mixture of fish, usually the types of fish regarded as nothing special such as eel, coral trout, scorpionfish, or rockling alongside some shrimps, scamps, and mussels.

This dish originated in Venice somewhere between the 14th and early 16th centuries. It was most likely invented by fishermen who would take the fish and its leftovers that had no commercial value and make a stew out of it. For a long time, Brudet was reserved for a fishing boat kitchen, until Bartolomeo Scappi, one of the most famous chefs in the 16th century declared that “no one can make a better fish stew than the fisherman of Venice”. After that, this dish spread across all parts of the Adriatic coast and today it is known in almost all Mediterranean countries. Each of these countries has its own recipe for Brudet, which differ slightly from one another. There are also regional differences in recipes within each country. So in Croatia, besides the classic Brudet recipe there is also Neretva Brudet or Skadinski Brudet, made with river fish, Squid Brudet and Shark Brudet.

Traditionally, Brudet is prepared on a stone-lined fireplace in a clay pot in large amounts and served while still hot alongside polenta.
As vegan substitutes for fish are still scarce, this dish was rather difficult to interpret in the vegan version. We used mushrooms, eggplant and palm hearts – their texture resembles the texture of many fishes, nori – which added the salty, fishy, sea taste and vegan substitute for prawns and shrimps. The end result, even though not exactly accurate, was still a spectacular hearty dish full of flavors that will transport your soul immediately to the sea.