Episode 2 Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul

This is my gastronomic road trip from Venice to Istanbul

through part of one of the world's greatest civilisations.

A melting pot of East and West that lasted a thousand years -

the Byzantine Empire,

that not only influenced and shaped the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean,

but spiced up the rather bland food of the West.

I was pretty sad to leave Venice.

It's one of those places where it takes three or four days

to get into the rhythm and feel of the place.

And then it's time to go! I loved it.

And the clams, risotto, the prosecco, the cicchetti

and those lovely spices from the East.

THUNDER

Now I'm heading south towards Ravenna.

It was the western bastion of the Byzantine Empire.

The eastern, of course, was Constantinople, Istanbul.

These programmes are about that heady mixture of East and West,

tied up in an empire that lasted a thousand years.

One thing that Ravenna's still very famous for are piadinas.

It's a snack that goes right back to the Eastern Roman Empire,

a massive area, virtually the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean.

And it's easy to understand why flatbreads, that came from

the East, found their way here -

because they were so easy to make and so tasty.

I must say, I'm really enjoying watching him making these piadinas.

And it's making me very hungry.

Well, it's just the simplest of flatbread,

just brought to Ravenna by the Romans.

Stayed here ever since.

-Grazie.

-Prego.

HE SPEAKS IN ITALIAN

That's another one.

That's a crescioni. That's like a crescent.

But this is a piadina. That's the original.

Well, here we go.

Oh. That's absolutely delicious.

I mean, it's just a simple flatbread made with flour, salt,

water, lard, and a secret ingredient.

He wouldn't tell me what that was but it's really nice.

Partly cos it's just freshly cooked like this.

This one's got prosciutto, rucola - rocket -

and a local cheese called, squacquerone.

Very, very soft, lovely, luscious cheese.

Absolutely delicious in the rain.

My favourite wine merchant, the late and much lamented Bill Baker,

said if I was going to Ravenna then I had to see the mosaics,

Byzantine mosaics, inside the basilica of San Vitale.

It was built by the emperor Justinian.

He came from nothing, really,

a poor, simple soldier, who became one of the greatest Byzantine emperors of all time.

Perhaps it was down to the influence of his wife,

the extraordinary and captivating Theodora.

I sometimes feel a bit sort of oafish cos I am a mere cook,

not a historian.

And looking at something like this, I have to put a personal spin

on it cos I actually don't quite know what's going on.

But scenes like that, really I enjoy.

Of course, that one is filled with food, so I would, wouldn't I?

But I just love the naturalness of it.

You've got Abraham giving a thanksgiving to these three angels,

which is a little roasted, probably milk-fed, lamb.

The angels have got three loaves of bread in front of them.

Probably very much like loaves of bread would look baked even to this day.

And a lovely scene there of Abraham

being told not to sacrifice his son by God, with a hand pointing

through the clouds in a very Monty Pythonesque way

saying, "Stop, stop!

"Here's a little lamb for you to sacrifice instead."

And it's all very natural.

And the bodies, they've got form. They've got anatomical form.

Then, if we go over here to this Eastern Christian mosaic,

it's totally different.

There's Christ in the middle, the Redeemer.

But all the figures are lifeless. They're just, just figures.

But what really counts is their eyes. Their voluminous eyes.

Their deep dark eyes with that gold behind them,

inviting you into the sort of mysticism of Christianity.

And more and more, as I begin to understand this side,

this Eastern, this Byzantine side of Christianity, I want to see more.

I have a friend who loves Ravenna

and says that for a real pleasure, a taste of luxury,

then try the passatelli.

This is Angela Schiavina

and she's part of the slow food movement here.

and this is her masterpiece.

It may not look the most beautiful soup in the world,

but it's utterly fabulous and so much part of Ravenna.

Those little noodles are made with a large amount of Parmesan cheese -

two parts Parmesan to one part breadcrumbs.

And now for a flavour of the old Byzantine Empire -

grated nutmeg and lemon,

just the zest.

And now marrowbone. This is what makes it really special.

This, and a few eggs, will be the glue that holds it all together.

It's regarded as a celebratory dish mainly enjoyed in the winter months.

The people of Emilia-Romagna love rich food,

that's why there's so much Parmesan in this dish.

And the marrowbone for velvety texture.

This is called a ferro per passatelli.

Just by pressing down on it, it creates these little worms of pasta.

She's already made a good beef brodo, using beef bones,

onions studded with cloves, carrots, leeks and celery.

Well, I've just been watching Angela make that

and it looked like a masterclass.

I mean, I just love classic Italian dishes.

And I enjoyed it a great deal.

But this is the bit that really appeals to me.

Wow!

When I saw all that Parmesan going in there, I was thinking,

"I love that."

This is beautiful.

And as you said, it's just made out of everything local.

And I think it's a sort of, really,

the heart of sort of Northern Italian cooking, the dish like this.

It's lovely.

Grazie.

SHE SPEAKS IN ITALIAN

Yeah, yeah, of course.

You're going to love this, Dave.

I'm sailing from Ancona to Split in Croatia.

I've never been before but I love catching ferries.

It reminds me of when I was in my early 20s.

Loads of friends would head off to Greece

in battered old vans,

find some beach and stay for most of the summer.

Those heady days before the restaurant took over my life.

Well, this is my first sight ever of the Dalmatian coast,

and we're just heading for Split.

It's a bit cold, I have to say, and looks a bit foreboding.

But I know I'm going to find some great fish

and some beautiful lamb.

But I was just remembering, I used to go to Greece -

this was before charter flights -

and we used to drive down the centre of Yugoslavia, cos it was the quickest -

that's what it was called then - it was the quickest way there.

But it was a horrible road. Loads of accidents. Loads of traffic.

And just once or twice, we'd say, "Oh, let's split for Split."

The first thing I'm thinking on arrival is,

"Why haven't I been here before?"

Split is very lovely,

especially the harbour side they call the Riva.

Great for coffee and baguettes, and watching the world go by.

But I'm here for the fish and nothing but the fish.

Gosh, how I love Mediterranean sardines. And look at that.

Look at the way it's curled.

I'm actually talking to the camera, sorry.

But look at the way that's curled. That's what they call stiff fresh.

And a guy's just told me -

they're really friendly in this market - just said that

if there's any sign of blood on the gill cavity, they're not fresh.

Somebody else just charmingly told me,

that, fish in Croatia, swim three times.

First in the sea,

second in olive oil

and third in wine.

I spotted a little bar just opposite this fish market.

And, of course, well, it's obvious, isn't it?

I asked the lady who owns the place, her name is Dnita,

if I could have the famous fritto misto.

That classic fried mix of ultra fresh fish.

Like so many dishes this was thought up by the fishermen.

Basically, they would fry up all the little fish they couldn't sell.

Just dusted with flour, deep-fried in olive oil,

seasoned and enjoyed with bread and wine.

Perfection.

Wow!

Quite a lot for one you might think,

but typically Croatian. They've cooked enough for the whole crew.

Here it is.

And, I mean, I know I love my seafood

but there is nothing on earth better than a fritto misto,

with little fish, little squid,

straight out of the market and into the fryer.

Now it's time to cook

and that happens here in my lovely kitchen,

overlooking the Aegean Sea

on the island of Symi.

I'll be doing dishes I've discovered, or borrowed,

from various restaurants, cafes and bars during my travels.

And this is a great Croatian way to cook prawns.

This is prawn buzara.

As you see, I'm peeling tomatoes a bit like a potato, or an apple

and, here in Greece or in Turkey, that's how they do it.

I think there's a sort of culture of doing everything in your hands

rather than using a chopping board.

I suppose because tomatoes are so plentiful and so large here,

losing a bit of flesh with the peel doesn't really matter.

I just like doing things with my hands.

Little things please me a lot.

One of the little things that always pleases me

is the quality of tomatoes in the Mediterranean.

There's just so much colour, so much sweetness to them.

Fab!

Now puree.

A couple of heaped teaspoons.

A tablespoon, I suppose, something like that.

And now, not always the case with buzara,

but I love a bit of chilli,

so I'm going to put a good pinch of chilli flakes in there.

And now saffron. That really is important.

Plenty of good saffron.

Seasoning...

Lots of black pepper and a bit of salt.

This is what I call, holiday food.

What do I mean by that?

Well, this is what I would cook if I was on holiday here.

Oh, and wine.

White wine and a touch of water.

I'm just going to cook this down now, so that it's the consistency

of, I don't know, something like hollandaise sauce, I suppose,

really quite thick.

And, if it's not thick enough when I've cooked it down and it

tastes right, I'm just going to put a bit of breadcrumb in there as well.

So, I can leave that now to cook down for,

probably about ten minutes, while I fry my prawns.

So I'm just getting the digestive tract out of this prawn.

Just run your knife along the back, through the shell like that,

and just lift it out.

I find that if there's no grit in the digestive tract,

I'm not too bothered about it

but some people are very squeamish about it.

If it puts you off then I think it's a good idea to take that out.

I know a thing about prawns, a thing or two.

These are very, very nice, local prawns.

Love the smell of cooking prawns.

Don't we all?

When a man is tired of his prawns, he's tired of life.

There we go. So, they're done.

I'm just going to add a bit of pepper and salt, I think, now.

I like my pepper.

Actually, all the Albanians, the Croatians and the Greeks,

and the Turks, they love their pepper.

A bit more salt. Not a lot.

And now we're just going to put one, into the other.

There we go.

That's almost ready now.

Now I'm just going to add some breadcrumbs

because it does need a little thickening up.

So, in go the breadcrumbs.

This is a common dish in Croatia

and equally as popular on the other side of the Adriatic, in Italy,

where they do acknowledge it as being Croatian.

As I mentioned before, this is holiday food,

great for sharing and dipping bread into that lovely sauce.

And there it is.

And I think second only to plainly grilled prawns,

this is possibly my favourite prawn dish.

Just tomato,

but the essential chilli for me and saffron.

Not very far from Split, up in the mountains, there's a village

called Zrnovnica - I hope I've said that right.

It's a very special place

because there's a little tavern there that's renowned for

its roast lamb.

What I've discovered about this restaurant,

right up in the mountains,

a bit of a local secret where they do fantastic lamb.

Apparently, if you haven't tasted the lamb, you haven't lived.

Now the thing is, that the guy that owns the restaurant

doesn't want us to be there.

He's got 26 lambs to roast today.

So the last thing he wants is a blinking camera crew

getting in the way.

But we really want to see this being cooked

and he does it in two ways,

first of all on a spit.

But the way that really interests me is under a lid called a peka,

a steel lid which he covers in coal.

And, apparently, that makes the lamb really crisp, and golden.

I can't wait.

-Hi.

-This is my father, Dondo.

-Very nice to meet you. Dondo.

-Yes.

Oh, good. Let's have a look.

THEY CONVERSE IN CROATIAN

Good Lord!

God, that is fantastic.

I've just been thinking about this ever since I got off the boat.

Gosh! It's making me...

For me, the more rugged the cooking, the better a lamb,

and this is sensational!

It's going to be absolutely lovely.

But, I can't talk any more. I can't see.

I don't know how they can get used to it.

HE RESPONDS IN CROATIAN

Oh!

There are certain prime forces that create the cuisine of a country.

First of all, its terrain

and second the climate

which leads to what grows best.

And the answer, in the mountains of Croatia,

and I suspect Albania, and I know for certain Greece,

is sheep, which means lots of roast lamb.

Sultans and emperors might have introduced new spices and flavours

to these parts over the centuries

but, you know, shepherds have been cooking this way since

before the Old Testament.

And this humble form of roasting is elemental to us all.

That's why it will live on forever.

It reminds me of years ago when I filmed with this feisty old lady

up in the mountains of Majorca.

I'm always looking for new ideas about cooking

and she cooked some brilliant roast lamb.

She put in well seasoned shoulders and legs of lamb

on root vegetables and covered them with lager.

Spanish, of course, por favor.

And she then put them in the oven.

She cooked them for about three hours and since then I've

been inundated with requests for how to do this,

but I didn't put it in my book

because, who's got an oven like that?

I had the same feeling about this dish in Croatia.

But, this time, I have worked out a way of adapting it

with lamb or veal.

It's simply cooked with onion, carrots, salt aplenty,

pepper and potatoes.

A lot of those well seasoned.

Plus lard and that's it.

And then, well, words fail me

largely because of the smoke intake.

But, look, anyone who likes a good pot roast will love this.

Well, he's just put the...

Excuse me.

He's just put the dish on the hot surface there,

covered it with a lid

and then he's putting hot coals all over the top.

So this is what's going to give it this lovely, crisp finish.

Golden crisp finish.

Uh-huh.

I love cooking this at home.

People say, "How do you cook that, Rick?"

I say, "Well, I discovered a secret from the shepherds of the

"Mosor mountains in Croatia.

"It's timeless."

Thank you very much.

So, is that all for me?

Da.

No, it's not. It's for the crew too.

But I get the best bits.

Well, here we go.

I've been watching this being prepared

and the bit I love the best is the skin.

That's simply the best piece of roast lamb I've ever tasted.

I mean, it's not just about the quality of the lamb.

It's very young lamb, so it's sweet.

It's very nicely seasoned

but...it's the smoke.

It just tastes of wood. It is sensational.

The man that owns this restaurant has had it for 41 years.

They've been open every day and he's never taken a holiday.

He's so dedicated to this excellent lamb.

And they serve the lamb with these lovely spring onions,

which you dip in salt, eat some of the lamb

and then eat a bit of onion.

Mmm.

Mmm.

This is pasticada -

pot-roasted beef with prunes

and a few figs.

Pasticada - it's Croatia's favourite dish.

It's their national dish. It's their homesick dish.

You know, the one you sort of think,

"What would I give for some roast beef, or some fish and chips."

Well, if you're Croatian, "What would I give for a nice pasticada?"

Well, I'm larding this piece of beef with garlic for flavour,

and bacon for fat,

because, as it cooks over a long time,

I don't want it to dry out.

I've never found a sort of neat and tidy way of doing this,

so excuse my fingers pushing it in

but it's the only way.

I have to say, I'm getting really quite frustrated with this.

You know, if I'm larding things back home,

I use nice, thick bits of bacon

and I'm sorry to say this

but you just cannot get bacon over here like you can back home.

Trying to lard this bit of beef, with this stuff, is not fun

and it looks terrible. OK?

I'm pleased that larding's over.

I'm now adding about 60ml of red wine vinegar.

I'm going to leave that to marinade for a couple of hours.

That tenderises the beef

but, also, it gives it the really unique flavour of pasticada

which is a combination of the sourness of the vinegar,

and the sweetness of the fruit.

Then, in a hot pan, a really hot pan with olive oil,

I'm searing the beef to give it a bit of colour.

I think searing meat enhances the flavour too.

What I'm hoping with the pasticada is that I've chosen

a cut of meat, chuck, a piece of chuck, which is quite fatty.

I've also larded it with the bacon.

After long slow-cooking, I think it will be like butter.

I'm hoping it'll be like butter. It'll cut so easily

but it will retain a great deal of moistness as well.

That beef's got a lovely colour on it now.

You can see my lardings there.

So, in there with all these lovely vegetables -

tomato, carrot, onion, celery.

And I'll just get some herbs - some rosemary and bay leaf,

to put on the top there.

That'll smell very nice as it's cooking.

And a deep, dark, Greek red wine.

If I was in Croatia, I'd be using Dingac, which is really dark red.

That's very important in this dish

and lots of it.

So now into a moderate oven.

About 170, 180 degrees

for about an hour.

And then I'm going to take the lid off and add the fruit,

which'll be prunes, figs and apples.

It's so nice here.

Swimming is an important part of my life.

I remember in India a year or so ago, I was desperate for a swim

while the curries were simmering away.

Except there was a blinking great snake, who loved to swim there too.

She lived in a drainpipe,

so I had to give it a miss.

But this is divine.

No snakes and the perfect place to cook.

So there we go.

That's looking quite nice.

The beef is a little bit dry.

I have made this dish before and the beef was really quite dry.

I'm a little bit nervous about that.

Slightly wish I'd brought some larding bacon over from England.

But, there we go, can't be helped.

Now to add the fruit.

So, apple, prunes and figs.

This is a dish, I think, where East meets West.

Using meat and sweet things together.

It goes back centuries

and pasticada is sweet, fruity, stew.

Actually, it just means stew from the pastures.

And back in the oven now for about another 45 minutes.

Well, this is a bit tense for me

cos I have had not much luck with these long, slow-cooked

pieces of beef. They've always been a bit dry.

Actually this one's looking not too bad.

I'm pleased that I chose the chuck joint.

Yes, I like the look of that.

This is a lot better.

I mean, this looks absolutely lovely. The juice, the fruit...

You can see the figs, the prunes, the apple, the onion.

And now some gnocchi just to complete the dish.

Fab!

I can always tell the success of a dish by the way

the crew wolf it down.

I didn't see Dave the director tucking in very much.

Unusual that.

Um, with great respect.

Oh, here we go.

I'm just wondering whether or not you thought that was just a tad dry?

-Did you try it? Did you taste it?

-No.

It was really lovely with all that, the fruit, the figs, the apple.

It was lovely.

Yeah, a little bit dry?

Yeah, it was a bit.

I'm a bit depressed about it, really.

I think I'll use silverside next time and not cook it so long.

-I'm sorry I mentioned it.

-It's all right.

-I shouldn't have mentioned it.

-Thank you, anyway.

Sorry about that, try and cheer up.

I've noticed over the years of making these programmes,

that markets have become a bit of a tourist destination.

But here in Split there's not a scented candle in sight.

Indeed, the range of produce probably hasn't changed

very much since the war.

I bet these nettles came from the days when food was in

very short supply.

I remember when I was young, my mother making a sort of beer

from nettles and tops of brambles,

a forgotten taste of early summer.

Every time the director says to me, "We're filming in a market

"in the morning," I think, "Oh, what am I going to talk about?"

Then I get to the market, and it's what can I not talk about?

There's always so much to talk about.

And here, I'm just looking at everybody's faces.

You can see these sort of agricultural,

these farmers have come in, to Split, to sell their produce.

Not only have you got some great, weather beaten faces

but also the people buying are so interesting.

First of all, I've just seen some elderflowers.

I've seen some nettles.

I've seen this curious thing that looks like wild asparagus, but

actually it's much more bitter and it's called poor people's asparagus

and it's called something like, my first bit of Croatian...

Bljust.

So, got that.

Radishes, love 'em.

This looks like either thistles or rocket.

I'm going to have to find out what that is.

I'm just filled with enthusiasm.

Sunny day every day you have to eat.

Every day a market excites you.

There is without doubt, a touch of Bohemia about Split

and this restaurant, Villa Spiza, has more than its fair share.

It's run by Ivana.

She's the boss on the right

and sister Nada in the red T-shirt

and Daniela -

three enthusiastic cooks.

Their famous speciality here is a fish stew made with beans,

something I've never heard of before.

This takes a fair bit of cooking

but, initially, it's olive oil and sliced onions,

borlotti beans, celeriac,

parsley root, chopped carrots,

sweet paprika, salt and pepper

and chilli powder.

You simmer it for about an hour and a half

and then some parsley.

Now this is a dish of two halves.

First the beans and then the fish.

Then later they'll be joined together.

Ivana, I've just come from Venice, actually,

and they've got... had some lovely fish dishes there.

Lucky you.

Yeah, I suppose you're right.

In my opinion, Italian food is more sophisticated.

Italians are more...they were richer people in the past.

Croatian are more, peasant, yeah?

So our food is basic but honest at the same time.

-And from the heart.

-And from the heart, for sure.

And, that's very important in our food

but it's pretty similar.

It's Mediterranean kind of, kitchen, cooking.

It seems very unusual. I've never seen that before, Ivana,

of putting beans in a fish stew.

It's a very unusual dish.

Let's say a poor dish, but it's not. Not at all.

But that's what I'm always looking for

is dishes I've never come across before.

I'm sure you're going to be very, very surprised.

Well, I'm looking forward to it because I'm sure it'll work.

Sounds a bit presumptuous of me.

Of course it'll work!

IVANA CHUCKLES

So this is our fish which we're going to put in our fish brodetto.

Great. Looks very fresh.

-Yeah, it is. Have a try and see.

-So, what have we got here, then?

So we have a monkfish.

-Monkfish there.

-Yeah.

-A sea bream.

-Sea bream, yeah.

-And a scorpion fish.

-Rascasse.

To be honest, I don't have idea, English name.

I think we call that rockling. Is it rockling?

-It could be.

-Yeah.

And these, do they give you a nasty nip?

Of course.

OK, this one is a little bit too tired right now.

It's a bit exhausted.

So how long will that cook for, then?

-One hour and 30 minutes.

-OK. Good.

40 minutes.

-Well, we'll go and have a drink.

-Yes, of course.

This band suddenly turned up here in the alleyway

and they weren't going to go away

and insisted we film them.

I'm so pleased we did.

Cos it goes down well with the dish.

# Blue drag

# I'm sure is dragging me down

# I'm almost tagging the ground...

She puts in quite a bit of white wine here.

# The rhythm, the rhythm, the rhythm

# Has got me in peculiar faze

# Rhythm, just rhythm

# The rhythm has got me in a serious faze

# I can't get enough of blue drag... #

The fish doesn't take long to cook.

But then it has to cool down, so the girls can take out the bones,

and bits of shell.

We need to be careful with these little bones.

Because when we eat it...

we can't have trouble.

-With lots of fish stews, you, the customer are fiddling around.

-Yes, it's easy to eat.

Yeah. Cos you're doing all the work.

It's not easy to prepare, but it's easy to eat.

You're always roped in to do these things?

-Yeah, I love being in the kitchen.

-Oh, you do.

Two months ago, I quit my job in the Navy.

I was the officer there for ten years

because I realised that the kitchen is the place where I want to be.

# Blue drag. #

The fish stock's been strained.

Ivana adds the fish and tomatoes to the beans and serves.

I'm sure this is going to be delicious watching you making it.

So much has gone into it.

Oh, it's lovely.

-Is it?

-It's the deepest, darkest fish stew I've ever tasted.

Yeah!

It's got a bit of, there's a bit of chilli in there, but not a lot.

It's really full of flavour.

I just think it works with the beans.

You're absolutely right. But...

Thank you.

-I've got to have some wine with it.

-I already prepared some for you.

-Oh, red wine.

-Enjoy.

-It has to be.

-I mean, there's so much flavour it's got to be.

-It should, it should.

-Nazdravlje!

-Nazdravlje, absolutely!

Gosh.

-Well, thank you ever so much.

-Thank you. Thank you, really.

Do you know this suits me right down to the ground.

Split's my kind of place.

Split was the home of the emperor, Diocletian.

He retired here.

Not many emperors did, they were usually murdered.

But I have to say, to do Split proud, you have to take

a bit of a Roman holiday

because here is not just some Roman baths,

in a small corner of the city.

Not just a mosaic floor, underneath some plastic next to a bypass.

It's the whole place!

Dino Ivancic is my interpreter here.

Not only that, he's a font of knowledge

and his family have been living here for over 1,000 years,

so he knows his history.

So, the Emperor would come out where those tourists are?

Yes, and he would present himself all dressed in purple colour.

Purple was a tricky colour.

The most expensive one in the Roman Empire.

To get only one gram of purple colour,

you needed to smash and to dry 10,000 seashells,

-called murex.

-Murex?

Murex.

I eat them, they're lovely.

They're the little, spiky shells you see in the market.

-Of course.

-It's like this lovely ozoney flavour.

-Of course.

-And, actually, very nice with olive oil,

and just a little bit of lemon juice.

So that's where he got the colour purple from.

Can you imagine? From like, you can eat them, but you can also extract

the purple colour, which was the divine colour.

It would have been so mystical.

Just...if it was that difficult to get.

It would be sort of like,

you couldn't fail to think there was a God.

Believe it or not, purple was for the Emperors only.

Doesn't the Pope wear purple too?

Ah, yes, Grecians copied that fine custom.

Oh, how nice.

Look at this. Egg boxes.

Just in case if you lay an egg while you're sitting.

HE CHUCKLES

Dino took me to his favourite bar here.

It's not really known by tourists, but it's really famous for its ham.

It's called prosciutto prsut.

There are three things that make it great.

Number one, it's cured high up in the mountains above Split.

Number two, the humidity in the wind,

they call it the bora, keeps it moist.

And number three, the sweet smoke from oak,

gives it its distinctive flavour.

Well, I'm looking forward to trying this.

Oh...

That is really good prosciutto.

This is our best product here, you know.

Oh, that's up with the...it's up there with the Italian, Spanish ham.

-Some say even better.

-Really?

-Mm-hm.

-Maybe.

Maybe.

It's got that...lovely, slightly acid quality.

-Slight grittiness in it.

-Mm-hm.

And, of course cos it's smoked, it's that...

And it's smoked over the fireplace.

It's like, it's my favourite dish here, anyway.

Now I know I'm in the minority here

but this dish really interests me.

No matter where I am in the world, if it's on the menu, I'll have it.

It's tripe!

Well, this is really a bit of a rarity getting tripe, I must say.

I'm a bit of a fan. Do you like it?

Actually, I don't but sometimes I force it.

But in my family this is one of the most preferable meals.

-Really?

-So like I will take, only one spoon, if you don't mind.

Oh, shame.

Oh, yes, tell me about it.

But is it popular in Split generally, then?

Er, yes.

Or like, among the older generation, I must say.

-Well, I am that older generation.

-OK.

It will I fear be ever thus.

That I'm the only person who loves tripe.

And, yes, I can see a day, not too far away,

when the serious tripe eater becomes extinct.

I'm just leaving Split. I must say I'm quite sad to be leaving.

I had no idea what it was going to be like.

I've never been here before.

Absolutely loved it.

I really like the Croatians.

I was talking to an Italian last night,

who's lived here for 15 years.

He said the difference between, Italy and Croatia,

is the Italians have to live up to something

with all the brands. the Ferraris, the Armanis,

they feel they are something.

Croatians don't need to bother.

They just relax. They just get on with their lives.

And, actually, I've really enjoyed the food.

I mean, you can't go wrong, on this Adriatic coast with fish.

But I've found the fish cooking really, really to my liking.

Simple, as one of the cooks said to me,

not as sophisticated as Venice but from the heart.

I love going to islands.

This is Korcula.

Many of my friends come here all the time.

One of my customers, every year without fail,

asks me rather sadly, why I haven't visited Korcula yet.

Well, I have now.

Left to my own devices I like driving about in search

of a good lunch.

I just think I can spot a wholesome restaurant at about 400 yards.

Korcula is a very fertile island and these are the vines that

make the grapes for the famous Grk, the local white wine.

It's spelt G-R-K. It's fabulous

but it's as rare as hen's teeth.

I stopped at a little restaurant in the village of Pupnat

where Biljana and her mum cook local seasonal dishes.

It's the middle of May and the dish of the day here is baby goat stew

with fresh peas.

Whether you can find this in the height of the tourist season,

I've no idea.

But it's baby goat over fried onions

and garlic and pancetta

and that's made locally in the village.

Now also from the village - white wine.

Next...salt.

Homer, the ancient Greek philosopher,

not the one from The Simpsons, called it a divine substance.

Pepper and cloves, a hint of the East there

and now Biljana's special tomato sauce.

She makes this by reducing the fresh tomatoes with wine

and olive oil, very slowly

and makes huge batches of it while the tomatoes

are plentiful and cheap.

Now paprika, for a little background heat.

And last but one, parsley.

Now it's nearly done, except for the peas.

I like the fact that these weren't your normal frozen ones.

They had more of a pulse-like flavour.

BACKGROUND VOICES

I think it's her mum. She knows best.

She's really keeping an eye on Biljana

making sure that she's doing it exactly in the family way.

Is she?

She is.

(Seal of approval.)

THEY LAUGH

Mmm. Very good.

I'm glad you like it.

Well, I tell you why I like it

because it tastes of where it comes from.

We don't get enough goat meat back in the UK

but it is lovely. It's so different to lamb, it's sort of...

And because it's young goat, it's very tender.

What I also like about it...

I sound like I'm one of those food, you know, in competitions.

What I also like about it, is the fact that the goat's got texture.

It's not cooked till it's all mushy

and I love the peas in here

because they're not like little frozen peas. They've got substance.

-They're a bit floury.

-Floury, yeah.

And the paprika. Do you cook with a lot of paprika?

Er, when cooking stews.

It's a very lovely stew, I must say.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm glad you like it.

BELLS RING

Marco Polo allegedly was born here in Korcula.

I'm not sure the Venetians would agree with that

but what is certainly true,

is he was captured in a Naval battle, just off Korcula,

in the water out there,

between the Venetians and the Genoese.

He was imprisoned by the Genoese

and, during that time, and this is very serendipitous, I think,

he dictated The Travels of Marco Polo to his cell-mate.

I'm fairly certain, without that time in prison,

he wouldn't have bothered to dictate anything.

He'd be too busy doing deals.

And as it is, the book was electrifying to Europe

because people just didn't know about the Orient.

The bit that appeals to me, allegedly, yes, allegedly,

he brought pasta back to Europe, and I keep thinking,

where would the Italians have got their spaghetti from otherwise?

Having a famous celebrity linked to a town, means a great source

of wealth for the community.

Well, ask the people of Stratford-upon-Avon.

So, Marco Polo, intrepid explorer and merchant,

great sea captain and the bringer of riches from the East,

came from Korcula and not Venice.

Well, I put the question, with a smidgen of disbelief,

to a local, Toni Lozica.

Do you believe that Marco Polo was born here?

-TONY SIGHS

-I do.

-Good.

-Definitely.

But it's not proven. That's one thing.

So if I would say that I don't believe, then they would probably

-burn me on a stake here in the middle of the square.

-Fair enough.

-I can understand that.

-But, er...

-But he had business interests here.

There is no evidence where he was born.

That's actually the problem.

Between Venice and us, concerning Marco Polo.

This is the house of Marco Polo.

So that's where he was standing and watching,

-far down south, like, OK, when are my ships coming in?

-What, for ships?

But, basically, this house is built about 200 years

-after Marco Polo was born.

-Well, you know.

There's a lot of conjecture about Marco Polo

and this may have been his house. It probably wasn't.

Everything about him. But how important was he

to the Western world, I suppose?

To the Western world, he was, I think, the most important,

because he opened the gates to the Orient actually, for everyone.

And, er...

he was definitely from Korcula.

I believe it.

-It's so nice here though, I must say.

-It is lovely.

This plate of food is minestra.

Tony says it's the most famous winter dish on the island.

It's as simple as can be -

smoked cuts of pork and local spring cabbage. Lovely.

-So, it's my own pig actually.

-Is it? My word!

I bought it and I let somebody kill it,

and then they made smoked meat.

-So, this is then...

-Wow, that's nice.

-..the boiled smoked meat.

-Lovely smell.

I was just thinking, every serious cook should have his own pig.

You've got one, where's mine?

I know the address. If you want, I can call the guy.

So then I will now remove it.

When people do it normally, they throw water away.

and I think it's a pity to throw water away,

so I just keep it in there and let it simmer.

This is the sort of food I love. You know, so I would be quite happy

-to eat this all through the winter.

-Oh, yes.

'I like one pot dishes and this is so easy.

'Tony removes the cuts of smoked pork,

'leaving a good, hammy, stock behind.

'And then cabbage, cut into ribbons.

'And that smothers the stock.

'Now, fresh tomatoes and garlic.

'Quite a bit of garlic.

'I think that looks very healthy.

'So he let's that simmer for about 20 minutes.

'The cabbage has to be well-cooked.

'Often a problem for those who remember it in school dinners,

'but something you can grow to love

'and then it's quite delicious.'

Well, this looks very appetising.

I know this is extraordinary, but it just reminds me of an Irish dish,

which is cabbage and bacon.

Do you think there's any connection there?

Any Irish people came to Korcula, years and years ago?

Well, the only thing I know, that actually

the only football supporters that don't fight each other

are Croats and Irish.

-There you go.

-That's possibly that.

Seriously, it's lovely.

The cabbage has got lots of flavour,

but so has the bacon, the smoked bacon.

And the two are made for each other, I would say, but...

also, what this dish is made for

-is a good gulp of red wine.

-Oh, yes.

-Peljesac wine.

-Cheers. Lovely.

Mm.

Mm, yes.

So it's time, in my island kitchen, to cook again.

And I really like Tony's minestra.

And so, I thought pork.

And one of the best ways I've discovered to cook chops.

This is walnut-coated pork chops, with figs.

So all I'm doing here is just scoring this pork,

so that the taste gets right into it.

Lovely big pork chops they are, too.

Now, it's from Croatia, but it's not a Croatian recipe.

It's actually from a woman called Karen Evenden,

who travelled the Balkans.

And what she said is, "What grows together, goes together."

That's her sort of idea of Mediterranean cooking.

And I think it's so right.

And, of course, here we've got pork,

we've got walnuts, we've got figs.

Everything growing in the Croatian neighbourhood, cooked together.

So, put my walnuts on the plate for the crust.

And then, here, I've got some ground cinnamon and nutmeg.

Now salt and pepper.

And a bit of olive oil.

Just mix that up a little bit.

And now I get my pork chops.

And press them as hard as I can,

down into the walnut crust.

And work as much of that walnut as I can into the surface of the pork.

And now I'm ready to fry.

'In olive oil, of course.

'But I am adding butter,

'because I want a good nutty brown colour at the end of the cooking.'

'I've cooked, and by that I mean grilled or fried,

'umpteen pork chops in my time.

'And I'd never thought of coating them with walnuts.'

Oh!

Erm...

Has anybody got one of these pairs of things?

They're probably better for your hair.

Erm...

I just can't do it.

There we go.

I shan't be using them again.

Just put a lid on now, just so that they cook a lot more quickly.

Now I'm going to chop up some figs and make the sauce.

So that's chopped enough. They don't need to be too finely chopped,

I like to see the figs in the final sauce.

Now, just put those there and just check the chops.

They look to be about all right now.

So let's just lift them out onto my serving dish.

There we go.

And now, finish off and make the sauce.

Well, first of all, some white wine. Just let that bubble up.

Then some chicken stock. Really nice chicken stock, this.

Made it myself.

There we go. Just let that come down a bit.

And now for the figs.

Just taste that.

Mm.

That's really nice. I'm really loving this.

I think I'm going to finish off with a little bit of lemon, actually.

Cos I think, by the time that's all cooked down,

it'll be really quite sweet.

OK. I think we'll just put in a little bit of butter now.

Plenty of parsley.

And it does need a little bit of lemon juice,

just to cut the fruit, cut the sweetness there.

So, there we have it.

A celebration of things growing together.

Let's see. We've got figs, we've got walnuts,

we've got grapes, we've got olives.

And we've got pigs.

THEY SHOUT

Usually, I make a beeline for the local fish market,

so imagine how I feel watching this -

a group of local lads netting a few yards from the shore.

This is definitely what I'd do if I was on my holidays.

It's just that right time of the day now.

Just one hour and it's lunchtime.

There's one there.

Got it.

This is my lunch.

I've just been watching them catching these.

And that looked like a dorade.

And that's what I would love for my lunch, a little gilthead bream.

But this is an absolute first for me.

I mean, the first time of anywhere,

I've just watched some fish being caught,

brought back to a lovely little restaurant, on a beach,

cooked for lunch. That's Korcula for you.

-FISHERMEN SHOUT IN CROATIAN Zivjeli!

-Zivjeli!

-RICK SPEAKS CROATIAN:

-Na zdravlje!

These fish, part of the bream family, are called sarpa.

I had to look them up in a book of Mediterranean fish.

Do I ask for anything more about cooking fish?

This, to me, is an idyll.

Simple, grilled fish, a salad,

chilled wine, fresh bread.

CHILD TALKS

Jelena, it's beautiful here.

What's it like to live and cook in such a wonderful place?

It is really, really nice. SHE LAUGHS

There are lots of fish.

You can eat all...everything from the land.

So we have olives, we have wines, vineyards.

And lots of nice, nice, very nice fish.

You've got fish scales in your hair.

RICK LAUGHS Yeah.

-You can look like this when you....

-You look like a mermaid.

-You've just popped up.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

-It is very hard to cook, But I like it very much, so...

-Oh, yeah!

-So do I.

-Yeah.

-I love fish!

CHILD TALKS

I'm just feeling a sense of total delight, I must say.

This is such a wonderful island, Korcula.

And, you know, I do a lot of travelling

and one of the things that I ask myself all the time is,

would I like to come back here?

Would I like to come back here? Would I?

It is absolutely beautiful.

The thing is, it's not been, to use the vernacular,

"cooked" by the heat of tourism.

There's a bit of tourism here, but it's just only a bit.

Maybe I shouldn't be saying this,

cos it'll bring too many people here!

What do you think about the fish?

I love the way you cook the fish.

Over charcoal.

No...nothing better. And the salad, too.

It is from our garden.

Well, I'm in heaven.

-And, as for this wine, grk...

-Yeah, our local wine.

..it's very good. So what do you say?

-ALL:

-Zivjeli!

-Zivjeli!

-Bravo, zivjeli.

'Next time, I leave Croatia and head to Albania.'

That's it. A Russian submarine base.

'I thought it would be memorable, so I asked my son, Jack,

'to come and share the fun.'

So which are you going to go for then?

-Er, probably a bit of lung.

-Really?

A bit of liver, yeah.

'The country's been locked away for so many years.

'And it's rediscovering its food heritage.'

Typically in Albania, you just say, oh, we'd like a light lunch.

But here it is. Here it is.

'I liked it. Well, I would, wouldn't I?'

Ham, salt, beans, water...

-..life.

-Bravo.

'And so, my gastronomic journey

'from Venice to Istanbul continues.'