Brudet

The story

Brudet, as it is called in Dalmatia, or brodet in Istria, is the fish stew of the Croatian coast: several kinds of fish cooked slowly with onion, olive oil, tomato, wine and a splash of wine vinegar, and served with soft polenta, potatoes or wide noodles. Cooks shake the pot instead of stirring it, so the pieces stay whole, and a pot holds several kinds of fish. Brudet is not tied to one holiday, but it fits Good Friday, which falls on March 26 in 2027 and is a meatless day for Croatian Catholics. In northern Dalmatian villages, the Zadar National Museum records, people ate only meatless food that day, many kept a strict fast, and the day centered on venerating the cross and a procession through the village with folk singing. Chasing the Donkey notes that fish replaces meat that day, usually cod or carp; a brudet of mixed fish keeps to the same rule. Ask the fish counter for steaks cut through the bone from three different fish, and start the polenta when the fish goes into the pot.