The savory chard pie from Poljica, the rural hills south of Split: two paper-thin discs of unleavened dough stretched 35 to 40 cm wide, filled with chard, onion, parsley and olive oil, baked under hot embers.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Soparnik dates to the medieval Republic of Poljica, a self-governing peasant community in the hills between Split and Omis that proclaimed its independence in the 13th century and survived until the Napoleonic invasion. The dish was originally cold-season fasting food, made when older chard was in the garden and when the church calendar forbade meat. The preparation method, paper-thin dough sealed by hand and baked under embers on the komin (open stone hearth), is protected by Croatia as intangible cultural heritage and was inscribed onto the UNESCO Representative List in 2016. Poljicki soparnik also carries an EU Protected Geographical Indication.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. Traditional soparnik is baked under hot ash; an oven works but go as hot as it allows.
Konoba Fetivi in Split's Veli Varos is the Bib Gourmand family konoba on Tomica Stine, cooking grilled Adriatic fish and pasticada to a daily Pazar buy.
Signature: Grilled Adriatic fish, Pasticada with gnocchi, Crni rizot
Order: Whole grilled white fish by weight with chard and potatoes.
Tip: Tue-Sun 15:00-23:30, closed Mondays; book ahead for the early dinner sitting and the best whole fish go by 21:00.
Konoba Marjan at the foot of the Marjan trail in Split serves classic Dalmatian dishes from a tiny kitchen in a centuries-old Veli Varos stone house.
Signature: Pasticada, Soparnik, Grilled fish platter
Order: Pasticada with gnocchi.
Tip: Cash and card both accepted; small terrace, book ahead in peak season.
More cities are in research. Want soparnik covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.