Fuži - A Unique and Traditional Istrian Pasta

If you find yourself at an Istrian wedding or in a tavern with a traditional Istrian offer, an integral part of the menu will be Istrian fuži: with beef or chicken, with venison, in truffle sauce…

The combinations are numerous, but the base is the same: pasta of an unusual shape, into which a delicious stew will slip in and which you will not be able to get enough of. 

Fuži is a typical Istrian dish, so famous that it has become a symbol of the gastronomic offer of the area, especially northwestern Istria. Legend has it that fuži originated at the beginning of the 20th century, when Grandma Luca from Kanfanar, wanting to surprise her dear guest with a special dish, shaped traditional Istrian pasutice (also known to some as krpice) into something special. Fuži were created, and have since won the hearts of Istrians and their guests. 

How fuži are made

Fuži dough is mixed with flour, salt, eggs, and water, rolled into thin noodles, and cut into rhomboid shapes. The two ends of the rhombus are then wrapped around each other or a stick, the corners are joined in the middle and the finished fuži, like other types of pasta, are cooked in salted water.

Although they are mentioned as a dish served after hard seasonal work in the fields, fuži became the crown jewel of the menu for special occasions and celebrations. It is no wonder, considering the amount of work and attention that every piece of this type of pasta requires, and due to the rich sauce fuži are served with (in comparison with the otherwise more modest menu in historically poor central Istria).

How to serve fuži

Today you will find fuži in every tavern and every restaurant in central Istria, and the growing number of Istrian producers of traditional Istrian pasta or pasta is making sure that the tradition of making fuži is not lost. Traditionally, fuži are served with rich beef or chicken mange (goulash), boškarin or venison mange, and in modern times a unique Istrian specialty and a special gastronomic experience are fuži in truffle sauce, another symbol of Istria.

If you find yourself lost in the gastronomic offer of Istria and don’t know what to choose among all those wonderful dishes, believe us, you will not go wrong with fuži.