Buzara

Ingredients

Shellfish

• 1.5 kgmussels, scrubbed and debearded, or 1 kg large prawns in the shell

Sauce

• 100 mlolive oil
• 6 clovesgarlic, sliced
• 250 mldry white wine
• 4 tbspfine dry breadcrumbs
• 1 bunchparsley, chopped
• 1lemon
• black pepper
• salt

For the red version

• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 2tomatoes, chopped

To serve

• crusty bread

Directions

1. Scrub the mussels and pull out the beards, discarding any that are open and do not close when you tap them sharply.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide shallow pan and fry the garlic gently for one minute only, until it smells sweet and has barely coloured. Browned garlic turns bitter, and in a sauce this short there is nowhere for it to hide.
3. Add the shellfish and turn the heat up high.
4. Pour in the wine, cover the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking it, until the mussels have opened. Throw away any that stay shut.
5. Scatter the breadcrumbs over and shake the pan hard to work them through.
6. The breadcrumbs are the thickener and the whole trick of the dish. Buzara takes no flour, no cream and no butter; the crumbs bind the sauce and, just as importantly, carry it onto the shells so it reaches your mouth.
7. Cook uncovered for a further 2 minutes until the sauce clings rather than pools.
8. Take it off the heat, add the parsley, plenty of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Taste before adding any salt, because mussel liquor is already salty.
9. For the red version, fry the tomato paste with the garlic and add the chopped tomatoes before the wine goes in.
10. Serve straight from the pan with a great deal of bread, and eat with your fingers, using an empty shell as tongs.

Technique

• Speed is the recipe. From the garlic hitting the oil to the pan reaching the table is under ten minutes.
• Bijela is the white version and crvena the red one. Boka Kotorska fishermen made both and argued about which came first.
• Use a wide shallow pan rather than a deep pot, so the wine reduces fast and the shells sit in one layer.

Substitutions

• Clams, langoustines or a mixture of shellfish, adjusting the timing to whichever opens slowest.
• Fish stock plus a squeeze of lemon in place of the wine.

Variations

• With a whole small crab cracked into the pan.
• The Dalmatian version, heavier on tomato.
• Served over spaghetti rather than with bread.

History

Adriatic mussels or shrimp cooked fast in white wine, garlic and breadcrumbs, the standard preparation of Boka Kotorska fishermen.

Frequently asked questions

What is Buzara?

Buzara is a main from Montenegro: shrimp or mussels in wine, garlic, breadcrumb sauce. Adriatic mussels or shrimp cooked fast in white wine, garlic and breadcrumbs, the standard preparation of Boka Kotorska fishermen.

How long does Buzara take to make?

Buzara takes 15 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Buzara?

Yes, within limits. Clams, langoustines or a mixture of shellfish, adjusting the timing to whichever opens slowest. Fish stock plus a squeeze of lemon in place of the wine.

What is the most important thing to get right in Buzara?

Scrub the mussels and pull out the beards, discarding any that are open and do not close when you tap them sharply.