Croatian · snack

Soparnik (Chard Pastry Baked Under Embers)

Name: Soparnik (Chard Pastry Baked Under Embers)
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Croatian
Ingredients: all-purpose flour — 500 g; water — 300 g; salt — 10 g; swiss chard — 1000 g; onions — 250 g; olive oil — 55 g; salt — 6 g; olive oil — 55 g; garlic — 18 g; black pepper — 5 g

Soparnik (Chard Pastry Baked Under Embers) reads richness 5.4, allium 5.3 and salinity 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Croatian snack, about 1 hr 15 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 4.7 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.5 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.7 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.3 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.9 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.4 · Allium 5.3 · Salinity 4.5 · Sweetness 2.3 · Umami 2.2 · Bitterness 2.1 · Herbaceous 2.0 · Warm Spice 1.9 · Nutty 1.6 · Earthy 1.6 · Heat 1.1 · Sourness 0.7 · Fruity 0.7 · Floral 0.7

What's in it (10)

all-purpose flour — 500 g
water — 300 g
salt — 10 g
swiss chard — 1000 g
onions — 250 g
olive oil — 55 g
salt — 6 g
olive oil — 55 g
garlic — 18 g
black pepper — 5 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 15 min (45 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 98.1 kcal, 3.5 g protein, 0.4 g fat, 20.7 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

Mix the flour, warm water and 10 g salt into a firm unleavened dough and knead 10 minutes. There is no yeast and no fat in it; it is the plainest dough in the Adriatic and it is meant to be.
Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Toss the shredded chard with the onion, the 60 ml of olive oil and the 6 g of salt. It goes in raw and it will look like far too much; it collapses to almost nothing under the heat.
Divide the dough in two and roll each half into a thin round about 45 cm across. Spread the filling over one, leaving a 3 cm border, lay the second round on top and roll the two edges together into a rope seal all the way round.
Bake directly on a swept stone hearth with embers raked over the top for 14 minutes, turning it once halfway. At home, a baking stone preheated to 250C for 12 to 14 minutes is the honest compromise and gets you most of the way, though not the ash and the smoke.
The surface should be freckled black in places and dry to the touch. Brush the ash off with a soft brush if you have baked it in the hearth.
Beat the finishing olive oil with the crushed garlic and the black pepper and brush it generously over the hot pastry.
Cut into diamonds with a knife or a pastry wheel and eat warm. Poljički soparnik holds a protected geographical indication and is made by the women of the Poljica region for Christmas Eve and for feast days.
Substitutions: 6 spring onions can stand in for the medium onions.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Grilled Potatoes — American
Grießnockerlsuppe (Semolina Dumplings in Beef Broth) — Austrian
Tortilla Argentina (Potato Omelette) — Argentine
Poblano and Corn Quesadillas — Mexican
Bean-Filled Bread (Lobiani) — Georgian

Keep reading: what richness, allium, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.