Some people in Croatia do, and they add some great Grobnik cheese on the side too.
The 10th Festival of Polenta and Cheese was held on Saturday at the Mlikarica Square in Dražice, near the city of Rijeka. This year’s event included a cultural programme and entertainment, while a special addition was the contest where participants were cooking polenta in kettles, and it was opened for everyone, reports Novi List on June 27, 2016.
This largest and most visited event on Grobnišćina was launched in 2007 and is being held alternately – one year in Dražice and the other in Čavle. The festival, a result of cooperation between two municipalities, Jelenje and Čavle, was initiated to save from oblivion a Grobnik tradition – polenta and Grobnik cheese. Polenta with Grobnik cheese is a part of the culture of this segment of Croatian population and their long nurtured tradition. The branding of these two seemingly ordinary foods has been an absolute success. Today, the event has the highest attendance in this area.
What is so special about their special recipe for cooking polenta? For one, among the ingredients needed to make this dish is potato, so it would be safe to say that this kind of polenta has rightfully earn its name “kompirica” (kompir is a word for potato in the region). The Grobnički cheese, produced in local households, is served as a side dish, which ultimately makes kompirica a complete, true meal. The making of kompirica at the festival involves shredding of the potatoes, lighting a fire, and then starting the cooking process.
Some time ago, Grobnik was known for cultivation of corn. Today, corn growing is a neglected activity. „However, every year, Bruno Kukuljan, a mill operator from Martinovo Selo, comes here and prepares a polenta made from special corn-grain“, said Gordana Gržetić from the Association Palentar, one of the organizers of the festival.
This year’s event also included numerous performances of various associations and guests, turning the Festival of Polenta and Cheese into an even more attractive festival.
