Fuži: Istria's Quill-Shaped Pasta and How to Eat It

What fuži is: Istrian pasta shaped into quills

Fuži belongs to the north-eastern Adriatic pasta tradition, and its shape is the point: thin strips of dough are rolled and pinched into small hollow quills with a seam running along one side. The finished pieces look a little like twisted penne or tiny bows, and the ridges and hollows catch sauce. Within the wider family of Croatian pasta, fuži is the Istrian member you are most likely to find on a restaurant menu, usually listed simply as fuži.

How fuži is made: dough around a rod or spoon handle

The shaping method is simple and hand-driven. A sheet of dough is rolled out, cut into strips a few centimetres wide, and cut again on the diagonal to make diamonds. Each diamond is then wrapped around a thin rod or the handle of a wooden spoon, and the two ends are folded over each other and pinched to meet in the middle, which gives the pasta its quill shape.

Ingredients: flour and water, or durum wheat and eggs

The traditional dough is minimal — just flour and water — and it is the handling rather than the ingredient list that makes fuži distinctive. Some handmade versions sold by Istrian producers use durum wheat and fresh eggs instead, giving a richer, more yellow pasta that holds up well under a heavy sauce. Both styles are legitimate, so a menu or packet that mentions eggs is not a deviation from the original; it is simply a different dough.

How fuži is served: game, truffle and mild meat sauces

Fuži is built for slow-cooked sauces. The classic pairing in Istria is wild game — venison or boar — braised until it coats the pasta, and the same shape is often served with a creamy truffle sauce built on the region's black or white truffles. A third common version is a mild red veal sauce made with onion, tomato paste, white wine and broth, which is the gentlest introduction if you are unsure about game.

Lighter, tomato-based versions also exist: a sausage and olive sauce with anchovies, capers and rocket, closer to a puttanesca, is served in south-west Istria and makes a good summer order. If you are working through the region's dishes more broadly, the wider guide to Croatian dishes is a useful companion for what else to try alongside it.

Fuži versus penne and other short quill shapes

Penne is the nearest supermarket substitute, and the Great British Chefs fuži recipe explicitly offers it as a stand-in when fuži is unavailable, because the hollow quill shape holds sauce in a similar way. The difference is texture and surface: hand-rolled fuži has a rougher, less uniform exterior and a pinched seam, so sauce clings differently and the bite is softer. Order fuži when you want the Istrian version of a short pasta; order penne when the sauce is the point and the shape is incidental.

What fuži tastes like and how to order it in Istria

Expect a plain, wheaty pasta flavour in the flour-and-water version, and a slightly richer, eggy taste in durum-and-egg fuži; either way the sauce does most of the talking. On a menu, fuži typically appears with game, truffle or a meat sauce, so ask your server which sauce the kitchen is serving that day.

Buying fuži to take home: dried versus fresh

Dried fuži travels well and needs no refrigeration, which makes it the practical souvenir; packets are typically sold in 500 g bags and cooked in salted water according to the packet instructions. One specialist Croatian food retailer in Vienna lists a 500 g pack of handmade fuži at 5.50 euros, so treat that as a reference point for a retail pack rather than anything resembling a restaurant price.

At home, cook dried fuži in well-salted water and finish it in the pan with the sauce so the hollows fill. A slow-braised meat sauce works; the same logic behind Croatian pasta generally applies, in that the sauce should be thick enough to cling rather than pool.

Should you order fuži or something else?

Order fuži if you want the one pasta that most clearly says Istria: the quill shape, the game or truffle sauce and the hand-made texture are worth seeking out. If you are in the mood for something baked or grilled instead, a plate of burek or a slow-cooked peka will serve you better, and both are easy to find across Croatia.