Škampi na Buzaru

The story

Buzara is a way of cooking shellfish on the Croatian coast: a quick stew of olive oil, garlic, parsley and white wine, often reddened with a little tomato and thickened with a spoonful of breadcrumbs. The word goes back to the Venetian Republic, when a buzara was the pot in which meals were cooked for a ship's crew, and it later came to name the method itself. Almost every region of Croatia has its own version, made with shrimp, mussels or other shellfish. The most prized scampi come from the Kvarner Gulf near Rijeka. The Michelin Guide explains that streams from the karst below Učka mountain carry leaves and sediment into the sea, forming a blue mud the scampi thrive in, and that in these fairly shallow waters they grow thin, pale-red shells and soft, sweet flesh. The best are caught in traps on longlines and delivered alive to coastal restaurants, where the largest are grilled and medium ones go into a buzara with tomato. Croatian cooks also tell you not to waste the heads, which hold most of the juices. Bring the pan straight to the table with crusty bread for the sauce and a chilled dry white, such as one from the island of Krk.