Buzara-Style Mussels
Buzara-style mussels are one of the most traditional ways of preparing mussels and other shellfish in coastal Croatia, Slovenia, and in the northeastern parts of Italy (Trieste and Venice).
Its origins can probably be traced back to ancient Greece, where pre-buzaro gastronomic techniques often linked garlic, parsley, olive oil, and fish. Romans were the first who began to use wine in the preparation of fish dishes; however, Roman cuisine avoided garlic, so there is no mention of dishes analogous to buzara by Latin writers.
This early form of buzara survived in Greece and Byzantium, and later in the Saracen Italian South, so we can glimpse some of the semantic roots precisely in the mixture of Greek and Arabic, in which ‘buza’ means lips or a dish brought to the lips with the hands.
Despite some similarities, the buzara-style as we know it today developed in the time of the Venetian republic and is an original dish of the Veneto and the Eastern Adriatic (Dalmatia). In the Venetians' time the word ‘buzara’ referred to a cauldron that was used on galleys to prepare food for the crew. From Dalmatia and Venice, buzara-style food preparation began spreading to their gastronomic neighbors.
There are two types of buzara sauce — the white sauce with olive oil, white wine, garlic, fresh parsley, and breadcrumbs, and the red sauce where finely chopped onions and tomatoes are added to the sauce.
If you crave more recipes and information about dishes from the Northern Adriatic, also visit the wonderful blog Beans & Sardines.
Recipe
Ingredients:
1.5 kg fresh mussels
100 ml olive oil
200 ml white wine (Istrian Malvasia if possible)
30 g garlic
4o g bread crumbs
20 g butter
pepper, to taste
1 bunch parsley
5 cherry tomatoes (optional)
lemon wedges and bread
Instructions:
Scrub and debeard the mussels. The ‘beard’ is the the clump of hair-like fibers that sprouts from the shell and that attaches the mussel to the rock. Pull it off with a side-to-side motion. Discard mussels with damaged shells.
In a large, hot skillet, add olive oil, and finely chopped garlic and parsley. Cook for about 30 seconds until you can smell the garlic and then add the wine, butter and bread crumbs (also halved cherry tomatoes, if using).
Bring to a boil and add the mussels. Cover the skillet and let the mussels simmer undisturbed until they open, for about 6 min. Shake the skillet from time to time. Do not overcook as mussels can get chewy.
Discard the mussels that did not open. Serve with fresh bread and lemon wedges (to clean your hands after dipping the bread in sauce).