Croatian stew recipe inspired by the Agatha Christie novel Murder on the Orient Express
In the Agatha Christie book Murder at the Orient Express, the train travelling from Istanbul to Paris is forced to stop during the night due to heavy snow, just over the border in eastern Croatia. In the morning, it is discovered that one of the passengers has been fatally stabbed. As no police can reach the train for days and nobody can leave, the detective Hercule Poirot, who is travelling in the same carriage, has exclusive access to all the suspects and can solve the crime undisturbed. Here’s a recipe from the geographical location where the murder on the famous train was committed.
What is Murder at the Orient Express about?
As Helen shares on the latest podcast episode (listen here), this book is such a classic that people feel they have read it, even when they haven’t. Published in 1934, quite early in Christie’s career, it was filmed and televised several times. In fact, Murder on the Orient Express was the only Agatha Christie adaptation ever to win an acting Oscar, for Ingrid Bergman in the 1974 version of the book. The premise of 12 passengers trapped on a train with a dead body and a master detective continues to grip audiences across the world, and is one of her most loved books. All the passengers have either a motive or suspicious circumstances, but all appear to have an alibi. However, even this conundrum doesn’t fool Poirot for long.
What is Čobanac?
Helen challenged Katie on the previous podcast to go away and research a dish based in eastern Croatia to complement the story, and Katie didn’t fail to deliver. However, she can’t take the credit because the brilliantly named website ‘Chasing the Donkey’, a travel blog for the Balkans region, was where she found this recipe for Croatian meat stew, called Čobanac. The name comes from the shepherds, as they are known as “Čoban” or “Pastir.”
How long does Čobanac take to make?
This is a slow-cooked stew, so you will need at least 3 hours to make it - but at least 2.5 hours of that is just slow-cooking time, so it's actually quite low effort. The rest of the time it's just about chopping and browning in a pan. Cook the dish.
Bring the mystery to your table
Pair this dish with a murder mystery of your own: it could go nicely with our Halloween game ‘Spectre at the Feast’ if you’re playing in on a chilly autumnal night. You might just have to rename it something a bit more chilling, like Body Part Pot Luck…. Or if you fancy a train-based murder inspired by the book, Shop Murder on the Leyton Orient Express, or browse our full collection for more.
Listen to the podcast
If you’ve found this unusual warming recipe idea suitably tantalising, you should take a listen to the full Whodunnit Dinners podcast, which will take you through the plot and structure of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ in more detail , and give you more background intel on traditional Croatian cuisine. To hear the full Whodunnit Dinners podcast, listen here.