Croatian Mlinci Pasta Food

CROATIAN MLINCI PASTA

Steps:

• Whisk salt into the flour, make a well in the middle and pour in the water. Start combining the dough with a fork. Use your hands to bring everything together in a ball.
• Knead the dough for 6-7 minutes. Do it by turning it gradually clockwise. With every turn, fold the upper side of the dough and push it into the dough ball. Do it gently and until you can feel the dough has become smoother and silkier.
• Divide the dough into about 6 smaller pieces (depends how large your pan or hot plate is). Dust each with flour, cover with a cloth and leave them to rest for 1 hour.
• Heat the hot plate (or a cast iron pan, or a heavy skillet) to high. Roll out each piece of dough to 1 mm thinness. Use flour generously as you flip from one side to the other.
• Place on a hot plate and cook for about 3 min on each side. You will know when to turn because the dough will inflate and get bubbles. Use a knife to prick these bubbles. There will also be some charring, which is good, this is the original look of mlinci. Turn to the other side and cook for 2-3 more min.
• You can also bake mlinci in the oven at 200 C/400 F, 3-4 minutes on each side. Place them on the reverse side of a baking tray and don't use any baking paper.
• Leave mlinci out to dry. Store them in a paper bag for later.
• When you want to use them, crunch them up into smaller pieces. Place them in a bowl and pour boiling hot water over them. Let them soak for 2-3 minutes. Drain.
• After you have roasted a turkey or a chicken, try to separate the basting juices from the fat. The fat will rise to the top. Use 1 tbsp of fat to coat the drained mlinci. Fry them quickly in a pan. Then pour basting juices over them. (If you don't separate fat from the juice, mlinci will turn out too greasy).
• Serve warm with roast poultry.

MLINCI

Steps:

• Add flour, salt, and eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix well.
• Add warm water to the mixture.
• Keep kneading the dough until it is firm.
• Add a bit of flour if the dough is sticky.
• Put the dough on the floured surface and cut it in half.
• Thinly roll out the first piece of dough with a rolling pin.
• Keep adding flour so the dough doesn't stick on the surface or the rolling pin.
• Once the dough is rolled out, cut it into bigger strips, diamonds, or squares.
• Bake each piece on a pan on the stovetop for 1 minute, then turn it over and bake for another minute.
• Repeat the method with the other half of the dough.
• Once the mlinci are done, let them rest for a couple of hours on the cloth.
• Before cooking them as a side dish, they should be placed inside a plastic bag for a couple of days.
• To prepare them, put them into hot salted water for 5 minutes and then dip them into juice from roasted meat.

MLINCI (NORTH CROATIAN PASTA)

Steps:

• Make dough out of flour, egg, lard salt and some water. Leave it to rest not less than 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 8-10 little balls. Make thin surface out of each ball and put them into oven to dry (not more than 100°C).
• They must be dry and light yellow on both sides.
• Before cooking, crush mlinci into small parts (10 cm) and put them into salt boiling water.
• They should become soft very quickly, and when so, remove them with hollow spoon and put into hot poultry fat (from duck or turkey or chicken).
• Now fry them until all water evaporates and fat cover the pasta. Serve hot with roasted duck, turkey or chicken.