The ship that serves delicious dishes you’ve (probably) never heard of
I’ve never heard of pljeskavica before. Nor bograc or bucnica. And to be honest, a cruise ship is the last place I thought I’d find out about them. They’re regional dishes I’d expect to discover in a Serbian tavern or Slovenian mountain inn, far from the tramped tourist trail.
Mediterranean salads from Windows Cafe.
Instead, I’m in the Adriatic on Azamara Pursuit, a small-sized cruise ship at a mid-range budget, sailing what might be considered a standard Barcelona-to-Venice run. Yet, I’m finding nothing ordinary about the journey.
For a start, the cruise ship occupies an unusual premium niche between large budget ships and smaller or similar-sized luxury ones, and confidently delivers a luxe feel but relaxed, down-to-earth atmosphere.
Aqualina Restaurant.
No big-ship razzmatazz or rides distract passengers, who’d rather be exploring the Mediterranean. Azamara Pursuit lingers in ports, aware that destinations are the highlight.
Then there’s the dining. We’ve only departed Barcelona when I realise dining, too, might be different. As the sun sets over a molten Spanish coastline, waiters lay out tapas on the pool deck.
Boquerones (fresh anchovies) are silvery slivers of vinegary delight. Croquetas, gooey with cheese but crunchy on the outside, are just as you’d find them in a Barcelona bar. So are the grilled shrimps, studded with garlic.
Cruise ships constantly move, making local cuisines hard to showcase. Vaguely defined European and American cuisine rules, but Azamara seems determined to right the balance. Other cruise lines half-heartedly present a few local dishes, but on Azamara they keep coming.
They aren’t bland, please-everyone dishes, either. The evening we’re docked in Marseilles, excellent buffet venue Windows Cafe turns French. Among arresting dishes are snail-filled vol-au-vents and frog’s legs in saffron, sure to alarm some.
Waiter serving mushroom risotto.
Never fear: the more conservative can enjoy terrific quiches, ratatouille, cassoulet, confit duck leg and gratin dauphinoise. Save room for the gloriously caramelised tarte tatin.
The chefs on Azamara Pursuit are conjurers. Soon we’re sliding down the Italian coast and hey, presto, I can order Tuscan vegetable soup, gnocchi con salsiccia, rigatoni with pepper-tomato sauce, and squid-ink pasta.
Italian cuisine should be simple and unfussy, and on Azamara Pursuit it is, even in speciality Tuscan restaurant Aqualina. There’s no pretentious over-complication and no silly foam or smears, only a sprinkling of on-trend micro-herbs.
Among classic, deceptively simple Italian dishes that can often be disappointing are caprese salad, white-bean soup, parmigiana di melanzane, mushroom risotto and tiramisu, but not in Aqualina. Quality ingredients shine, and fresh flavours sing.
As we squeeze through the Strait of Messina and into the Adriatic, things get really interesting. I’m not well-acquainted with Balkan food, but Azamara is keen to titillate my taste buds with new experiences.
Azamara Pursuit.
It starts at breakfast time in Kotor with paprikas sa jajima, a scrumptious dish of capsicum roasted with egg and cheese that I scoop up with hunks of crusty bread. In Sibenik, it’s time for bucnica, a flaky-pastry strudel stuffed with pumpkin, cheese, cream and eggs.
At lunchtime, I tuck into bograc, a hearty wine-simmered stew of mixed meats and potatoes supposedly invented by Hungarian shepherds, and now a Slovenian favourite.
And yes, cruise passengers do inexplicably love their burgers, but on Azamara Pursuit even I’m tempted into one inspired by pljeskavica, a popular Serbian dish of spiced minced pork, beef and lamb meat. Its sides of spicy onion and capsicum-and-eggplant relish prove the perfect burger topping.
As we sail towards Venice, I eat too many sirovi struklji or Slovenian cheese dumplings, stuffed with walnut or poppy seed. But how can anyone resist a taste of the shore, here on the high seas?
The Details
Cruise
All four Azamara ships feature Discoveries main dining, buffet venue Windows Cafe, The Patio pool grill, and Mosaic Cafe for coffee and snacks, plus two specialty dining venues, Prime C (steakhouse) and Aqualina (Italian). Ships sail worldwide, with Azamara Journey and Azamara Onward in Australia and New Zealand between January and March 2024.
An 11-night Best of the Med Voyage departing May 12, 2024, on Azamara Pursuit sails between Fusina (Venice) and Barcelona costs an average $4071 a person. See azamara.com
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