Gregada
Fish and potatoes gently layered and cooked with onion, garlic, white wine and olive oil. A lighter, simpler fish dish from Hvar.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total
- 55 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
Gregada is the plainer cousin of brudet, no tomato, no vinegar, just fish and potatoes layered with onion, garlic, wine and olive oil and left alone to cook.
It comes from Hvar, where fishermen are said to have made it on deck with the day's catch, and the whole point is letting good fish taste like itself.
Part of our 20 best Croatian recipes list.
method
Layer half the sliced potatoes in the bottom of a wide, heavy pan.
Scatter over half the onion and garlic, and season lightly.
Lay the fish pieces on top, then scatter the rest of the onion and garlic over the fish.
Layer the remaining potatoes on top, and season again.
Pour over the wine and olive oil, and add just enough water to come partway up the sides.
Cover and simmer gently over low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, without stirring, until the potatoes and fish are tender.
Scatter with parsley, and serve straight from the pan with crusty bread for the broth.
chef's tips
- Gregada is deliberately simpler than brudet; no tomato, no vinegar, just fish, potato, wine and oil cooked together until the flavors settle into each other.
- Don't stir the pan while it cooks. The layering is doing the work, and stirring just breaks the fish apart before it's ready.
- A wide, heavy pan that holds everything in a single layer or two works far better here than a deep, narrow pot.
- This comes from Hvar specifically, where fishermen traditionally made it on their boats with whatever came up that day.