Poljicki Soparnik

Soparnik is made from two sheets of unleavened dough with a filling of chopped chard, onion and parsley between them, sealed at the edge and baked not in an oven but on the swept stone of the hearth, covered with embers and hot ash - the ash is brushed off afterwards and the surface rubbed with garlic and olive oil. It comes from Poljica, the small self-governing peasant republic that existed in the hills behind Omis for centuries with its own written statute until Napoleon abolished it in 1807. The dish was granted protected designation of origin by the European Union in 2016, which fixed both the recipe and the area.

What to look for

• Chard between two thin sheets - sealed and baked flat.
• Cooked under embers on the hearth - not in an oven.
• From the Poljica republic - the self-governing district behind Omis.
• Protected designation since 2016 - the recipe and area fixed.

When to go

Year round; it is a Lenten and festive dish traditionally. A meal.

Before you go

Properly hearth-baked soparnik takes time and is not on every menu - many places serve an oven-baked version, which is not the same. Ordering ahead helps in the villages. It is plain food, and visitors expecting richness are sometimes surprised.

Nearby

Omis is at the coast; the Cetina canyon runs inland behind it.