Rosa Cooking

Homemade pljukanci with tomatoes, bacon and chicken

Pljukanci is a traditional Istrian pasta (pasta) that is prepared without eggs and then eaten with different types of šugića (sauce). We were a little bored with traditional versions such as goulash, mushrooms, žgvaceta, etc., so we combined the neighboring Italian cuisine (which influenced Istria anyway) with ours :)

Preparation steps

  • SPITS
  • Dissolve the salt in warm water. Add olive oil to the flour, then add a little water and knead the dough. The water must be warm, almost hot. You should have neither too thick nor too hard / too dry dough - adjust the measures of water and flour - because it all depends on the flour you have.
  • Some leave a ball of dough for half an hour to rest. I usually don’t have time for that so I immediately start doing spit. Tear off pieces of dough the size of a large cherry and roll it out into an oblong shape between your palms. They say that our ancestors used to spit in the palm of their hand so that the dough wouldn't stick to their palms - that's why it's called pljukanci;) Put pljukanci on a floured work surface so that they don't stick to you.
  • In parallel with the preparation of scabies, put water in a large pot and add salt. When it boils, put the spittle in it. When they start floating on the surface they should be done. Don’t throw away the water - add a tablespoon, two to the scab to bind it and let it creamy.
  • You can also freeze the pljukanci - place them on a board so that they don't stick to you, freeze them, and then when they freeze, put them in a freezer bag and put them back in the freezer.
  • SHUGO
  • Cut the chicken breasts into small strips and season them with salt, pepper and Mediterranean spices. Garnish the onion and garlic, cut the bacon into strips.
  • Pour a little olive oil into a deep pan and first fry the bacon on it to release the fat and become crispy. Take it out and put the meat in its place. When the meat gets a nice color and you take it out, reduce the heat, and put the onion in the pan first to turn yellow, and then the garlic briefly. As soon as the garlic starts to smell, put the meat in the pan again, and then the whole tomatoes. Add a teaspoon of sugar and any remaining Mediterranean spices. After a few minutes, the tomatoes will start to crack and start to release their liquid - then you can add a little liquid in which the pasta was cooked. Tomatoes should be ready in 5-7 minutes.
  • Then your sauce is ready for the pljukanci - add the cooked pljukanci to the same pan, stir and let the pljukanci absorb the aromas from the scabies.
  • Transfer to plates, sprinkle with fresh basil (unfortunately I didn't have it) and some fine cheese (grana padano, parmesan, etc.)

Serving

Papa this pasta hot, for lunch or dinner.