What to eat Slovenia? culinary specialties and gastronomy

Thanks to its varied landscapes and numerous neighbors - for a country modestly twice the size of Île-de-France - Slovenia uses a wide range of ingredients in its cuisine. Fresh or fermented vegetables, cereals, legumes, dairy products, pork, mutton, poultry and fish are combined with wild products such as mushrooms, much appreciated in soup, or dandelion, commonly used to make salads in summer. Pork is popular and common throughout Slovenia, as is poultry. On the coast, mutton and goat are preferred. On St. Martin's Day, people feast on roast goose, duck, turkey or chicken accompanied by cabbage.

As a result of this diversity, Slovenia offers a large number of products protected by various European labels, some of which you can easily take home in your luggage. Many are cured meats. Carniolan sausage or kranjska klobasa is probably Slovenia's best-known protected product. Popular as far afield as Central Europe and the United States, in 2015 it was listed as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). But we can also mention prleška tünka, a product from eastern Slovenia, similar to a piece of cooked ham preserved in lard, usually served with onions and gherkins. Karst prosciutto or kraški pršut is traditionally produced on the karst plateau in south-west Slovenia. It is quite similar to Italian cured ham. It has an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), thanks to the fact that it is salted exclusively with sea salt and matured for at least a year. In a similar vein, kraški zašink is a cylindrical piece of meat cured in a casing that is reminiscent of Italian coppa. Zgornjesavinjski želodec resembles a very strange flat sausage made from pork meat and fat, which owes its unique circular shape to the fact that it is stored in a pig's stomach, before being dried, giving rectangular slices. It is produced in the upper Savinja valley. Šebreljski želodec, made in the regions around Cerkno and Idrija, is quite similar.

But charcuterie isn't the only thing on offer. Tolminc or Tolminc sir cheese, made from raw cow's milk and produced in the Soča valley near the town of Tolmin, has a mild, slightly spicy taste. It is matured on wooden racks, then washed and turned by hand. Nanos or nanoški sir cheese, made from cow's milk, has been produced around Mount Nanos, near the Italian border, since the ^16th century. Both cheeses are large, firm tommes. Slovenian Istrian extra-virgin olive oil(ekstra deviško oljčno olje Slovenske Istre) has a powerful, spicy taste with a strong fruity aroma, known for its high oleic acid content. Ptuj onions(ptujski lük) are known for their sweetness. Slightly flat and deep purplish-brown in color, they are most often found braided. To finish on a sweet note, honey from the Kočevje forest(kočevski gozdni med), produced in the southeast of the country, is mainly made from the nectar of conifers and wild lime trees, the national tree.

In Slovenia, various types of restaurant have different names depending on the quality of service, dishes and, of course, price, although there is not necessarily an absolute rule, as prices vary greatly between the capital Ljubljana and the provinces. Restavracija is generally the best. However, some establishments are not at all out of their league: in a beautiful setting with no debauchery of luxury, prices are average, in line with those charged in the gostilna or gostišče, i.e. the inn. The gostišče is generally a notch lower, but go figure: we've enjoyed gostilna that had nothing of the rustic inn about them, and whose menus unquestionably reached the quality of the restavracija. Theokrepčevalnica offers small-scale catering, as do the bife. These are buffets where you can eat grilled meat or sausages. In pivnica (buffet bar), it's sometimes possible to eat a snack. Coffee and pastries are served in kavarna, and ice creams in slaščičarna.

Soups are a popular first course in Slovenia. Traditionally, they were lean, mainly vegetable-based. A typical example isaleluja, a soup made from turnip peelings and a well-known fasting dish. Fortunately, there are more cheerful recipes, such as beef soup with noodles(goveja juha), often served on Sundays as part of a Sunday lunch (beef soup, fried potatoes, roast beef and salad). On feast days and public holidays, there's often a choice of beef noodle soup or creamy mushroom soup(gobova juha). Jota is a soup of beans, sauerkraut or turnip sour, potatoes, bacon and pork, also popular in Croatia and the Trieste region of Italy.

As for the main course, you obviously can't miss the famous Carniolan sausage, one of Slovenia's best-known dishes, already mentioned above. This sausage, made exclusively from coarsely chopped pork and salted bacon, is seasoned with garlic and pepper, then smoked at a low temperature. Only sea salt is used. Carniolan sausage is eaten after being slightly warmed in hot water. Its name dates back to the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (baptized by Franz Joseph himself). It is said that Emperor Franz Joseph, on his way to Trieste by carriage, stopped at a famous inn in the Carniolan village of Naklo pri Kranju. He asked the innkeeper what he had to offer, to which he humbly replied that all he had was a simple homemade sausage. The emperor ordered the sausage, and when he tasted it, carried away by the taste, he is said to have declared: "But this is no ordinary sausage, it's Carniolan sausage! Wiener schnitzel (Viennese cutlets) are also very popular. On restaurant menus, they are called dunajski zrezek, from Dunaj (Vienna) in Slovenian. In the Prekmurje region, you'll find bograč, a beef goulash with potatoes presented in its own little copper cauldron. This stew, generously seasoned with paprika, originated in neighboring Hungary. Finally, ričet is a stew containing a piece of smoked bacon simmered for a long time with barley, beans, carrots, tomato and leeks.

In Slovenia, many dishes are based on cereals, bread or potatoes, often of rural origin. Štruklji are sweet or savoury pastry rolls filled with a variety of fillings. The most popular is certainly sirovi štruklji (with fresh cheese), but there are also štruklji with spinach, ham, meat or mushrooms. A peasant specialty par excellence, žganci is an oatmeal-based dough that is baked, crumbled and garnished with grilled bacon.Ajdovi žganci is a typical buckwheat dish. Ajdovi žganci is usually found on the inn menu and on the family table. It is often served as an accompaniment to meats in sauce such as pot-au-feu. kruhovicmoki are also common in restaurants. These bread dumplings with bacon and onions are reminiscent of German knödel. Mlinci are often served with meats in sauce. It consists of strips of flatbread soaked in meat broth. Alternatively, matevž - a mashed potato and white beans with bacon - is often served with grilled meat. Because of its proximity to Austria and Hungary, sauerkraut and sausages (or stuffed brisket) are very popular. Idrija's delicious žlikrofi or idrijski žlikrofi, candy-like ravioli stuffed with potatoes, onions and lard, are served on their own or are the perfect accompaniment to a good meat stew. In spring, frtalja - omelettes - are garnished with wild asparagus, dandelions or wild garlic shoots. The rest of the year, ham, bacon, cheese or mushrooms are added, and are very popular. Sežana truffles feature on the menus of small country inns. Slovenian salads are always very hearty, often combining a variety of ingredients: lettuce, kidney beans, white cabbage, beet and tomatoes. A classic composition that changes with the seasons. In the east of the country, discover pumpkin seed oil, bučno olje, dark green in color and tasting of roasted hazelnuts.

On the sweet side, there's always room for the sweet quartet: potica-gibanica-zavitek-palačinka. Rest assured, just one of these desserts is enough. Potica is a rolled walnut cake that is to Slovenia what kougelhopf is to Alsace (there's also a Slovenian version of kougelhopf called šarkelj). The best-known is filled with chopped walnuts, but there are also some with hazelnuts and - more surprisingly - tarragon, called pehtranova potica. Potica is a cultural monument. Always in the spotlight on festive occasions, it is served less frequently in inns. Prekmurska gibanica is a Prekmurje dessert that will definitively break your ties with dietetics. Its puff pastry is filled with apples, walnuts, poppy seeds, raisins and fresh cheese. Topped with butter and cream, this dessert is served warm or hot. Palačinka, with Hungarian origins, is a pancake usually filled with walnut cream and accompanied by whipped cream.

The traditional jabolčni zavitek (apple strudel) has a friend in sirovi zavitek (cream cheese) or česnji zavitek (cherry). Some housewives have not lost their knack for preparing delicious cmoki, potato dumplings filled with boiled apricots, plums or strawberries, then topped with melted butter, sugar and breadcrumbs. Other doughnut recipes include krhki flancati, the equivalent of Lyon bugnes, and krofi, classic doughnuts filled with jam, chocolate or apple sauce. Miške is also a type of doughnut, but with no filling and the size of a walnut. There are also a number of creamier cakes, such as kremsnita, a kind of mille-feuilles, or kvasenica, a thin pie similar to cheesecake. Or let yourself be tempted by zlevanka, a flan from the Medimurje region, made with semolina and fresh cheese, flavored with lemon and vanilla and topped with cherry compote.

If you're sightseeing at the farm, you'll appreciate the many varieties of homemade bread. The amazing Carniolan white bread(belokranjska pogača) has a checkerboard pattern pre-cut before baking, allowing it to be torn into cubes. There are also several types of viennoiserie, such as buhteljni, brioche rolls filled with jam, usually apricot, or pogača, a type of twisted brioche, ideal for coffee. Slovenians are among Europe's most enthusiastic coffee drinkers, and also among the world's biggest consumers, with some 6.1 kg per capita per year. They prefer Turkish coffee, which is unfiltered, and serve it with milk and sugar. Proximity to Italy and Austria has further encouraged this passion for hot beverages. As a result, coffees abound in the country, and - in addition to the famous Turkish coffee - there are all kinds of variations: cappuccino, espresso, not to mention hot chocolate or tea, which is nevertheless more modestly consumed.

Slovenia is a wine-growing country with three main regions: Primorska to the west (Briško, Vipava, Karst, Koper), Podravje to the east (Maribor, Slovenske Gorice, Radgona Gorice, Prekmurske Gorice, Haloze, Ljutomer Ormoške Gorice), Posavje to the east and southeast (Smarje-Virštanj, Bizelsko-Srem, Dolenjsko, Bela Krajina). In Gorica, vineyards are planted on hillsides. In Roman times, Pliny the Elder was full of praise for local wine. Emperor Domitian (81-96) did not hesitate to ban the cultivation of quality Slovenian vines. Frederick Barbarossa, leading the Third Crusade (1189), praised the wines of Styria, a region straddling Austria and Slovenia. The country produces 80 to 100 million liters annually from a total of 22,000 ha. Inns in the wine-growing regions usually own their own vineyards. Production is mainly focused on whites, including rizvanec, laški rizling, renski rizling, sauvignon, pinot, chardonnay, traminer, šipon and muškat. Other reds include modra frankinja and modri pinot. Very thirst-quenching, špric is a mixture of white wine and sparkling water.

But pivo (beer) is also a must. In this country, where every meeting is a toast, where wine is glorified, it is possible to order a pivo brez (beer without), meaning without alcohol. Beers are served in bottles, mugs or glasses of 50 cl, 30 cl (or 20 cl). If you don't specify, you'll get 50 cl. Otherwise, ask for a malo (small). For a draught, say: odprto. While the two most popular Slovenian beers are produced locally - Laško, reputed to be stronger, and Union, which has opened its factory doors to the public - a growing number of craft beers are beginning to make their way into Slovenian bars. As elsewhere in Europe, IPA beers - with their citrus aftertaste - are gaining in popularity.

Slovenia also has a long tradition of brandy distillation. These include the inratable slivovka, a plum brandy popular with its Balkan neighbors, as well as rakija, made from grapes, and češnjevec, a cherry brandy. Brinjevec is a juniper berry brandy produced in Karst and Brkini. Finally, borovničke is a delicate mountain blueberry liqueur.