Dagnje na buzaru (Novigrad)

Ingredients:

• 3 kg of ham
• 2 dl of white wine
• 3 cloves of garlic (onion)
• 1 dl of olive oil
• parsley

Preparation:

Clean the shells from fouling and other impurities with mussels, remove the whiskers and rinse them in the sea or cold water and let the sea drain from them. Pour olive oil into a large shallow bowl and briefly fry the finely chopped garlic on low heat and add the chopped parsley. Add mussels, cover and shake several times. You don’t need to add salt, of course, because mussels let the salty sea into their crust. When the mussels start to open, add the wine, stir and leave for a few minutes until the buzara boils. Then turn off the fire, cover, let it rest for a while.

Remark:

Buzara made from dagani (and other shellfish) is prepared all over the Adriatic. In some places, breadcrumbs are added to the buzar towards the end to thicken the scab a little, sometimes finely chopped tomatoes (or some canned food) are added, but this recipe, recorded in Novigrad, is considered traditional. The Novigrad mussel is particularly valued, and is in the process of obtaining a protected mark of authenticity.