Paolo Gavin - Mediterranean Vegetarian Cooking

Our destination, the isle of Rab, lay before us, the mountains bare as Krk, its shores green as spring But the scent of myrtle and rosemary and thyme was as strong and soothing a delight as sunshine.

Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcons:
A Journey Through Yugoslavia

Land of Albania let me bend mine eyes on thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men!

Lord Byron, Childe Harolds Pilgrimage,
Canto 11, Stanza XXVIII

I STRIA LIES IN THE north-east corner of the Adriatic where the Apennine and Balkan peninsulars meet. Most of Istria is part of present-day Croatia, except for the far north which belongs to Slovenia. Istrias strategic position at the gateway to the Adriatic has made it a battleground for invading peoples for much of its history. Around 900 B . C . Istria was inhabited by an Illyrian tribe the Histri who gave Istria its name. Istria flourished under the Romans as an important trade centre, exporting Balkan olive oil, wine and walnuts to other parts of Europe. In the centuries that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, Istria was overrun by the Visigoths, Huns, Slavs, Franks, Germans and Austrians. From the fifteenth century it was divided between Venice and Austria. It was the Venetians who first introduced foodstuffs from the New World haricot beans, pumpkins and squash. (Corn was not introduced until the seventeenth century, via Egypt, Romania and Hungary.) Venetian rule lasted nearly 400 years until Napoleon conquered Venice in 1797. After Napoleons defeat at Waterloo in 1815, Istria became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of World War I. In the shake up after the war Istria was handed back to Italy, where it was incorporated into the province of Venezia-Giulia. It was not until the end of World War II that Istria was finally united with the Kingdom of the South Slavs or Yugoslavia. Even today, most Istrians speak Italian and retain strong cultural links to Italy.

Istrian cooking is a mix of Italian and Central European cuisines. All kinds of pasta dishes are made, especially krafi and zlikofi (ravioli) and fui (homemade noodles). Fui are often served with truffles, which are found in the region around Koper (Capodistiria) in the north-west. Istrians are also fond of thick vegetable soups similar to Italian minestroni that usually include potatoes, cabbage, herbs, dried beans or chickpeas, pasta or barley.