Croatia: Karlic Tartufi
One of the most memorable experiences of my trip to Croatia was my visit to Karlic Tartufi in the town of Paladini, in the northern region of Istria, Croatia (Thanks to my friend S who visited Karlic Tartufi last year). It was our second stop on our 10 day journey through the country. To be honest, I cannot believe we actually found this place – there were minimal signs directing us and it was located on top of hill that is accessed by a one lane gravel road in the middle of endless rolling green hills (such beautiful place). Once we arrived, we were greeted by the Karlic family members (the daughter, mother and grandmother) and were introduced to the history of truffles, both black and rare white truffles and then a wonderful spread of truffle hors d’ouvres and dishes. We enjoyed breakfast in their open air dining room, tasting and savouring every way one can have truffles – mixed with cream cheese, mixed in scrambled eggs, truffle flavoured hard cheeses and my new found favourite, black truffles in honey! The touch of truffle honey paired with a slice of the cow’s milk cheese was to die for I just had to bring home a jar 🙂 Then to top off the entire experience, we were taken on a hunt in the nearby forests with three of their dogs and although never a guarantee, we happened to visit Croatia at the start of the white truffle season. And low and behold, the dogs found a sizeable white truffle! What an awesome way to experience a part of Croatia that most visitors never do!
The Karlic Tartufi home in Paladini, Istria, Croatia.
Beautiful views of Istria from the Karlic Tartufi home.
The outdoor dining room of the Karlic Tartufi home.
Croatian tradition – a shot of schnapps before the start of a meal.
A sampling of black and white truffles.
Truffle hors d’ouvres – on the left black truffle mixed with cream cheese, served on baguette and topped with black truffle shavings; on the right white truffle pate topped with white truffle shavings.
Cow, goat and sheep milk cheeses made with truffles and sausage topped with truffle shavings.
My favourite truffle product – truffle honey!
Homemade red and white wine along with local sparkling water.
White and black truffle pates.
A pile of freshly grated black truffle shavings.
Shaved black truffles made with eggs and topped with more black truffles.
Truffle hunting with the dogs of Karlic Tartufi in the forests of Istria.
The dogs found something!
They found a white truffle!
A full view of the lake from Paladini.
Baguette with cow’s milk cheese topped with a dollop of truffle honey.
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