If you’re looking for a simple but oh, so delicious dish, Soparnik may be your match! This pie is made of classic dough with a chard filling. Besides the chard, the filling also combines onion and parsley so we can say that Soparnik is a tasty and healthy specialty!
Even though all the mentioned delicious ingredients don’t say much, trust us – Soparnik presents a beautiful harmony of the homemade dough with amazingly rich filling. If you’re a lover of chard, you can’t miss this recipe!
History & Tradition
Soparnik is a traditional Croatian dish and its origin is from Dalmatian Poljica (also called Imotski Poljica).
If we look a bit at the history, soparnik dates from the time of the Republic of Poljica. This name refers to the area east of Split, from Žrnovica to Blato on Cetina and Omiš, as well as from the sea to Zamosorje. In the past, Poljica was an administrative area of the self-government of the regiment of the Republic of Poljica. Then, soparnik was a ceremonial pie and it was intended for the poor people. Soparnik was considered a dry food and it was prepared and eaten during the festivities like Christmas, Good Friday, and All Saints. It was also prepared for the laborers and guests.
Scare conditions in Poljica such as extreme heat, drought, and shallow soils, led the people to poverty, so the women used the simplest ingredients and turned them into interesting and rich in flavors recipes. And that’s how soparnik came to be. From then until now, its recipe is carried from generation to generation.
Today, a lot of Poljica households prepare soparnik in order to carry on the tradition, as well as to fulfill great demands for this delicious dish.
Due to its beauty and tradition, soparnik has a protected geographical indication at the level of the European Union.
Preparation
As we already mentioned, soparnik is a simple pie. It is made of rolled dough and filled with chard, onion, and parsley. Traditionally, it is baked in a commune – we can say that commune is a hot baking chimney in which soparnik is placed and then covered with ember. But there are a lot of recipes suitable for the kitchen oven while you still keep traditional recipes and preparation.
After soparnik is baked, it is coated with olive oil and garlic and it can be cut into triangles, rhombus, or squares. The cutting method depends on the baking – if you bake it in a commune, it is quite big in size so you can easily cut it into rhombus but if you bake it at home, it comes smaller in size so, of course, it is easier to cut it into triangles or squares.
If you’re wondering how to prepare this delicious dish, get ready – the recipe is coming up!
Mix flour, salt, oil, and water into a smooth dough.
Divide dough into 2 balls (one bigger, one smaller) and cover them. Let them rest for 15 minutes.
Clean the chard and drain it well. Cut onion and parsley, and add them to the chard. Add Vegeta as well. Mix all the ingredients.
Put a bit of flour on the table and then roll out the bigger dough. After that, place the dough into a baking pan and put the chard on it. Make sure that the chard is evenly and thinly divided.
Roll out the smaller dough and place it over the chard. Press the edges of the dough well so the filling doesn't leak out. Pierce the surface of the dough with a fork.
Heat the oven up to 180°C (356 °F). Put soparnik inside and bake it for around 40 minutes. Once it is baked, coat it with olive oil and garlic.
Let soparnik cooldown and then cut it into triangles or squares. Serve it with red wine!
Ingredients
Directions
Mix flour, salt, oil, and water into a smooth dough.
Divide dough into 2 balls (one bigger, one smaller) and cover them. Let them rest for 15 minutes.
Clean the chard and drain it well. Cut onion and parsley, and add them to the chard. Add Vegeta as well. Mix all the ingredients.
Put a bit of flour on the table and then roll out the bigger dough. After that, place the dough into a baking pan and put the chard on it. Make sure that the chard is evenly and thinly divided.
Roll out the smaller dough and place it over the chard. Press the edges of the dough well so the filling doesn't leak out. Pierce the surface of the dough with a fork.
Heat the oven up to 180°C (356 °F). Put soparnik inside and bake it for around 40 minutes. Once it is baked, coat it with olive oil and garlic.
Let soparnik cooldown and then cut it into triangles or squares. Serve it with red wine!
When it comes to the traditional recipes, they may be simple but the end result is a dish rich in flavors and beautifully combined ingredients.
Soparnik is a delicious dish filled with vegetables and seasonings. While preparing it, it is important to dry the chard from the water so the dough doesn’t get too moist. The only moisture should be from the chard juice which, while baking, perfectly combines with the dough. Also, pierce the dough well so it doesn’t inflate too much during the baking.
With these measurements, you can cut soparnik into 6 bigger pieces.
When it comes to the red wine for serving, we recommend Plavac mali. Let us know how you like soparnik!
Enjoy and bon appétit!
