@Deborah. I just used Italian Pennette liscie to substitute for Istrian Fuži – nothing special on the pasta side. Croatian in the recipe was the sugo (sauce, “šug” in dalmatian dialect), called “Pešt” in its red version. Pešt is obviously a derivation of Italian word pesto, but is based on our side of the Adriatic on bacon, garlic and parsley. I have actually based mine on bacon, garlic and onions (green and shallots mix), and used fresh tomato cubes to get it red, very red, and rather reduced but still liquid. At the end of cooking I blended all this with a half of an orange juice (this one was actually a Sicilian blood red orange) to brighten all of it up and add a sweet note to the tomato. Probably it is in order to credit the bacon: it was the last piece of a great home cured lard of a Slavonian pig and I’ve let the skin in the mix for the first couple of minutes). Fresh thyme, dry bay-leaf, hot dry peppers from the start, and fresh parsley at the end were used as a condiment. Salt and black pepper in traces. I always sprinkle with first class olive oil after mixing the sugo with the pasta, an Istrian in this case. I used aged Parmiggiano Reggiano on it at the table, but half of the family skipped the cheese, actually on the gender basis. Istrian Cabernet blend Terre Bianche 2004 from Moreno Degrassi was served, a great wine indeed, but Plavac mali might have been an even better pairing.