After conquering Kvarner with their seafood specialties, the owners of the Mala riba restaurant decided to expand to the continent. This summer, they "sailed" into Zagreb‘s Jarun and opened their first branch there, which closely follows the look of the original restaurant in Matulji above Opatija, opened fourteen years ago. Behind it all are two families - Nikolac and Mikičić - who have been engaged in fishing for many years. In the Zagreb restaurant, everything is managed by Karla Mikičić, the owner‘s daughter, who grew up in Mala riba where she learned the trade for years. Her right hand is the top chef Zdravko Tomšić, who has been collaborating with the family for more than twenty years.
"Our concept is different. With us, you don‘t wait for appetizers because we have them in a cold showcase, the only one of its kind in Croatia. There you can find about fifteen different dishes: from shrimp with beans to unexpected combinations of fish with vegetables and legumes such as fava beans, chickpeas, and peas. We found inspiration in Italian osterias, and the formula is - affordable, simple, yet special," explains Tomšić, whose main dishes follow the same philosophy - freshness above all. The fish comes cleaned and washed in seawater already on the trawlers, ready for the simplest possible preparation.
"Fish can‘t wait. The less you touch it, the better it is," adds Tomšić, noting that this is why fritto misto (fried small fish and seafood) is prepared in three minutes. You also don‘t wait long for guazzetto, or brudet, which combines several types of fish cooked in an emulsion of fish stock and olive oil, with the addition of rosemary, olives, capers, and pomodorini (cherry tomatoes). A house specialty is also monkfish tripe, which in Zagreb you can try only at Mala riba. They are made from the stomach of monkfish, which is washed in special bags in the sea while the boat is moving and arrives at the restaurant ready to use, and they also offer skate and dogfish. The Mikičić family has a fleet of boats not far from the protected area of the island of Jabuka, where in the deep and cold water they primarily catch shrimp, and then all the other fish they offer.
"The problem is that the sea is changing, there are no fish, which is a very bad situation," says Karla, who remembers that twenty years ago there were so many prawns that her father used to give them to restaurants. Now she is fighting to keep the area around the island of Jabuka, which has been closed to fishing for ten years, from being reopened so that shrimp and hake can once again swim en masse in the Adriatic. Because of this, she says, they manage in various ways, so they have purse seiners and other boats for catching fish, which also decorate the walls of the restaurant. The new space has retained the charm of old taverns, thanks to carpenter Valter Gover from Italy, a family friend who has been shaping their interiors in wood and warm tones for decades. The tables and partitions are from the old restaurant, restored and incorporated into the new story.
"We didn‘t want fine dining. We want the atmosphere to be homely, relaxed, to have a pleasant place for business lunches, but also for family gatherings," explains Karla, adding that the only difference between their two restaurants is in the wines: in Matulji they serve wine on tap, while in Zagreb it‘s by the bottle. The olive oils come from Dalmatia and Istria, the bread is from Zagreb‘s Boogie Lab, because their focaccia pairs perfectly with the cold appetizers from Mala riba. For dessert, besides standard cakes, they also offer profiteroles according to Karla‘s mother‘s recipe, who made them for every birthday of her brother.
"He didn‘t like cakes, but, like me, he adored profiteroles. Mom would stack them in a pyramid to look like a cake. Now we offer them in two flavors - chocolate and vanilla - and I must say the people of Zagreb are delighted," Karla Mikičić concludes with a laugh.
Fritto misto
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE:
- 350 g cleaned small hake
- 250 g cleaned red mullet
- 250 g cleaned small sand smelt
- 150 g whole large Adriatic prawns
- 1 kg strong flour
- 2 l frying oil
- 2 lemons cut into slices
- salt
PREPARATION:
Just before frying, coat the dried and well-chilled fish and prawns in strong flour and place in hot oil. Lay the fried fish and prawns on a paper towel to absorb excess fat and salt them. Serve on a plate with two slices of lemon.
Guazzetto
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE:
- 350 g landovina (mixed fish)
- 350 g trawler white fish
- 150 g shrimp
- 100 g mussels
- 0.3 l dry white wine
- 0.3 l mild olive oil
- 0.3 l fish stock
- 100 g cherry tomatoes
- 50 g caper buds
- 70 g olives
- 3 crushed cloves of garlic
- salt, rosemary, peperoncino
PREPARATION:
In a pot, mix olive oil, fish stock, and wine. Add all other ingredients except the fish to the liquid and let it briefly boil. Place the fish and seafood into the resulting emulsion and cook until the liquid reduces by 1/3 and everything emulsifies together. Season to taste. Serve in the pot in which it was cooked, with polenta or toasted bread.
Za sudjelovanje u komentarima je potrebna prijava, odnosno registracija ako još nemaš korisnički profil....