My new story How to Bind a Sailor’s Heart is in the May issue of Mermaids Monthly.
Charles Payseur writes about it in Quick Sip Reviews
A grim and bracing story, but one that acts as a fierce warning, full of haunting beauty!
To celebrate its publication, I decided to share my recipe for pogača – the dish described in the story (without the gory details, of course – but feel free to be creative if the circumstances demand it).
Komiška pogača is a traditional filled bread from the island of Vis. This is my version of the recipe – delicious and really easy to make.
Komiška pogača
Dough
- 600 g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 7 g dry yeast
- a splash of virgin olive oil
- 400 ml warm water
Filling
- 50 ml virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 500 g tomato puree
- 8-10 anchovy fillets
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 bay leaf
- rosemary
- thyme
Instructions
Prepare the dough: mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add oil and water. You can use a hand mixer at this point. Knead the dough until you get a nice, smooth texture. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.
Prepare the filling: chop the onion and sauté it in the virgin olive oil over medium heat for 10 min. Add the garlic, sauté for 1 min then pour in tomato puree. Add bay leaf, rosemary and thyme and simmer for about 20 min, until it thickens. Set aside to cool.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
Assemble the pogača. Take the risen dough, knead it and divide it into 2 equal parts. Roll the first part into a round shape and transfer it to a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Spread the tomato sauce, arrange the anchovies in a circle and dot with capers. Roll the other part of dough into a circle and cover the first part. Fold the edges and seal them with a fork. Bake the pogača for 30 – 40 min, until golden. Slice it into wedges and enjoy.
Jelena Dunato 