Island of Rab

Felix Arba

To the Romans, the word "felix" meant glory, rise and prosperity, and in their time Rab was called "Felix Arba". In the mid-Middle Ages, Rab was an independent municipality, with its own statute, administration and trade agreements, and in the late Middle Ages this island was a maritime crossroads of European trade routes between Venice, the Kingdom of Naples and Hungary.

The island's economy was based on livestock farming, olive growing, crop farming, viticulture and fishing, and the gastronomic identity is shaped around several recognizable points: lamb, lentils, Rab cake, legumes and grains, dried octopus (štoklja) and olive oil.

Thanks to its mild Mediterranean climate, in mid-1889 Rab was declared a seaside resort and health resort, and tourism began to develop.

Rab cake and mustačoni

Rab cake is made from almond mixture wrapped in shortcrust pastry with eggs and coarse sugar, and is most often shaped like a snail. Decorating the cake requires the filigree skill of folding the dough between the fingers, which resembles lace. The dessert, which was neglected for a long time, was made, to order, by Benedictine nuns. The original recipe, written in calligraphy and without measurements, is kept in the monastery of St. Andrew. Namely, they vary depending on the season: in summer, fewer eggs are added, and in winter, more eggs are added because the almonds change their structure in the cold.

This expensive cake was made for weddings, baptisms, confirmations and similar festive occasions, and the poorer classes used pine nuts instead of almonds. Legend has it that the Rab cake was first prepared in 1177, when Pope Alexander III took refuge on Rab from a storm. To show respect, honor and gratitude to the Pope, the nuns prepared a Rab cake on a host for him.

Muštaćon is actually a mustache biscuit! It is a crispy dessert in the shape of a mustache, made from almonds, sugar, chocolate, eggs, cinnamon, cloves and olive oil, and kept in a box with laurel. Along with Rab cake, it is the trademark of the island of Rab.

Dried octopus (stomach)

Octopus dried in the winter bora (Štokalj) is a traditional food of the island of Rab. It weighs at least two kilograms, and the rule is “the bigger the better”. After cleaning, the tentacles are spread out on reed sticks and left in the bora for two to three days. It is prepared with eggs or in goulash. The flavor of dried octopus is rustic, concentrated, deep and dark, full of the saltiness of the sea.