Delicious autumn dishes from Slavonia and Podravina

(Photos: Sanja Mijac/Matija Turkalj)

Lift your mood by preparing delicious dishes according to the original recipes of Croatia’s wonderfully rich Slavonia and Podravina regions. 

From Virovitica, Pitomača and Slatina to Orahovica, the finest dishes are prepared that will lift the mood and make a feast out of an ordinary lunch.

This gourmet oasis is home to excellent chefs and confectioners, professionals and amateurs, and master secrets are passed down from generation to generation and adapted to modern trends.

If you are in the region this autumn, for an appetiser, we suggest čvarci that you can eat at any time of the year, then a hot hearty pumpkin soup that will warm the stomach, for the main course a light risotto with aromatic mushrooms, and finally an irresistible chestnut cake.

Sweet bites (Photo: Matija Turkalj)

Pumpkin soup with cream (Photo: Sanja Mijac)

Mushroom risotto (Photo: Sanja Mijac)

Inspiration for recipes like this can be found in the original online cookbook Gastro trip through Virovitica-Podravina County.

The chestnut is well celebrated in the region and on October 23rd and 24th the Voćina Chestnut Festival dedicated to it will be held. This year the largest chestnut cake will be prepared by the award-winning confectioner Sandra Jadek.

On October 23, the Chestnut Festival in Orahovica, where more than 250 kilograms of chestnuts are roasted, will take place.

where the largest chestnut cake will traditionally be prepared by the award-winning confectioner Sandra Jadek. Or on October 23, jump to the Chestnut Festival in Orahovica, where more than 250 kilograms of chestnuts are roasted.

Chestnut cake recipe from Gastro trip through Virovitica-Podravina County

Chestnut cake (Photo: Sanja Mijac)

Ingredients:

3 eggs
150 grams of sugar
200 grams of chestnut puree at room temperature
150 grams of ground nuts as desired
100 grams of room temperature butter
A pinch of salt
Half sachet of baking powder
A teaspoon of vanilla essence
Sweet whipped cream for decorating

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. 
Line a 20 cm diameter tin with greaseproof baking paper and grease the sides. 
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and mix together the egg yolks and sugar until white. 
Add chestnut puree, ground nuts and butter, baking powder and vanilla essence. 
Mix to combine everything. 
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. 
Using a spatula, gently stir the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. 
Pour the resulting mixture into the tin and bake for about fifty minutes. 
Cool the cake and decorate it with whipped cream as desired.