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Komiska Pogaca
TASTES LIKE SUMMER!
CROATIA
Komiska Pogaca is a traditional Croatian baked bread pie from the island of Vis filled with tomatoes, herbs and anchovies.
The island Vis, located in the Adriatic sea was always a key point of many sea routes and as such was exposed to many diverse cultures. The island was discovered by Greeks in approximately 300 BC and for centuries was an independent island state, first as a Greek colony and then as a Roman city. The first cities on the island were Vis (Issa in the old Greek) located on the northeast side of the island and Komiza located on the opposite side.
Besides the culture and traditions, Greeks brought their gastronomy with them.
The gastronomic culture of the ancient Greeks was based on the ingredients such as olives, cheese, fish and bread, and they spread it throughout the Mediterranean in all their colonies, including Issa. Since the island of Vis is very isolated, its inhabitants were using simple ingredients that were easily accessible. But through the Greek influence, the inhabitants started experimenting more with the different ingredients, seasonings and herbs. And that resulted in this delicious dish.
What is interesting is that both cities, Vis and Komiza, have their own version of Pogaca. Both recipes have the same main ingredients – homemade dough, salty anchovies, onions, olives, and olive oil. But Komiska Pogaca has one special ingredient – tomato sauce. Also, it is cut into squares, while the people of Vis cut it in the shape of a triangle. In the past, the inhabitants of the island Vis used to prepare Komiska Pogaca during the summertime when they had access to fresh tomatoes, so the rest of the year, they were preparing Viska Pogaca. But canned tomatoes made it possible to prepare both types of Pogaca throughout the year.
Whichever version you choose to prepare, this is a very aromatic dish with simple, easily accessible ingredients. For centuries this Pogaca was the main dish of the poor families of fishermen but today it is a trademark of the island and a culinary delicacy. So wait no more and try it for yourself.
RECIPE FOR 18 PIECES
// a bit tricky // €€€
Preparation: 30 min // Cooking: 40 min // Total: 70 min
INGRIDIENTS
For the Dough:
8 cups of bread flour
2 cups of warm water
5 tsp dry yeast
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt, more or less to taste
For the Filling:
2 large onions, chopped
2x400g can chopped tomatoes*
2 Nori sheets, smushed
5-6 olives, halved
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp oregano**
1 tsp salt, more or less to taste
1 tsp pepper, more or less to taste
- First, make the dough. Put flour, yeast, salt and water into a large bowl and mix until well combined. Add the olive oil and start mixing and kneading until the dough is firm***. Put the dough on a floured surface and continue kneading for a couple of more minutes until the dough is smooth. Put the dough aside, cover it with a cloth and let it rest and rise for at least an hour.
- In the meantime prepare the filling. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions for a couple of minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes. Shortly before the end, add smushed nori sheets.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C and grease high sided baking dish.
- Divide the dough into 2 balls, one slightly bigger than the other. Roll out the bigger dough thinly (about 5 mm) and put it in the baking dish, letting any extra hang over the sides.
- Spread the filling over the dough, put olive pieces and drizzle some olive oil and oregano over the top of the filling.
- Roll out the smaller dough thinly (about 5 mm) and place it over the filling. Pull the edges of the bottom dough up over the sides of the top dough and press well on the edges to seal the filling inside. Prick the top dough with a fork and brush it with a bit more olive oil.
- Bake everything for 35-40min
- Once baked, remove it from the oven and cover it with cloth for 15 min
- Cut into squares and serve with good Croatian red wine
- Dobar tek!
NOTE!
* Fresh tomatoes, tomato juice, or sauce can be also used.
** Adding spices like oregano or fresh or dried parsley is optional; we chose oregano.
*** Alternately, this can be done in a stand mixer with a dough hook, but we prefer to do it by hand.
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Thank you for taking your time and exploring our recipes! We hope that we have inspired you to try out some dishes.