Episode 56
Dobra večer, moji dragi prijatelji!
How many of us out there have a beloved non-human living with us?
No! Not a Martian, but a house pet!
In today’s lesson we’ll learn the words for some of our most common pet friends.
Lesson - Pets
house pet - kućni ljubimac
dog - pas
cat - mačka
bird - ptica
fish - riba
hamster - hrčak
rabbit - zec
turtle - kornjača
snake - zmija
In our special edition of the SSR, DJ Moe tells about a traditional culinary instrument of Croatia.
The Peka is a very popular dish that uses some very interesting cooking techniques.
Enjoy!
What is Peka?
It means a couple things.
It’s a tool used in cooking
It’s a technique
Its also a style of cuisine
The 1st Peka meaning is as a device used for cooking something. There is evidence of Peka remains dating back 5,000 years!
In Croatian when you see the types of foods I’m going to talk about, say on a menu or something, listed as Ispod Peke, which translates to “under the lid.” So that tells you a little bit right there, it’s a cover of some kind. For this explanation, Peka is referring to the wide bell shaped cast iron or (more traditional) clay lid. The lid has a circular lip about 3/4 the way down from the top of the Peka’s handle (which sits on top at its center). This lip is formed into the lid itself and acts as a ledge to keep a metallic hoop in place.
The 2nd meaning Peka is known for, is a cooking technique.
Starting with a fire.
Before people had ovens and convenient ways to trap heat, people used these lids or Peka. What they would do and still do is, start with a small controlled cooking fire. Once you get your fire started and have it nice and hot, add in some small logs that will turn into your hot embers for the cook. While this fire is getting hot, you are multi tasking and prepping all your ingredients. Once you have your embers ready and the recipe is put together in your baking dish, you use a spatula or mini shovel to make some space in the fire; enough space for your dish to sit with the Peka sitting on top of it and you place it in the fire. Then you add the hoop, which is 2-3” wide metal band, smaller than the Peka, that sits on the lip of the Peka. Once you make sure the hoop is sitting comfortably on that lip, you can start to shovel the embers on top of the Peka , the hoop will contain the embers and keep them from sliding down the Peka. Add on as much as you can and use the remaining embers to encircle the Peka at its base. This is Peka cooking technique.
The 3rd Peka meaning is for a style of Cuisine
A typical Peka is going to be either roasted Octopus or Veal over root vegetables, such as potatoes, onion, and carrots, but you can also add tomatoes and bell peppers. It’s then all seasoned with salt and pepper, olive oil and white wine added toward the end of the cook. Add in a Bay Leaf and a sprig of Rosemary to layer on wonderful aromatic herbal flavors to the meal. The entire cooking process takes anywhere from an hour and half to 2 hours, sometimes more if the Peka is larger and is feeding a bigger group. Using this method the meat is cooked slow and lightly smoked, it comes out juicy and falls off the bone if applicable. The final result is a roasted medley of savory flavors that goes well with traditional rustic bread and a glass of white wine.
Other Peka options are:
Lamb peka
Seafood Medley Peka
Chicken Peka
You can also use the Peka to bake bread.
