Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
konj
(horse) finds its way to the Slovenian table.
Piščanec
(chicken) is not as common as
puran
(turkey) on a Slovenian menu
,
while
gos
(goose)
, jagnjetina
(lamb) and
koza
(goat) are rarely seen.
Some excellent prepared meats are
pršut,
air-dried, thinly sliced ham from the Karst re-
gion that is related to Italian
prosciutto,
and
divjačinska salama
(salami made from game),
popular in Gorenjska. Slovenes are big eaters of
riba
(fish) and
morski sadež
(shellfish),
even far from the coast.
Postrv
(trout), particularly the variety from the Soča River, is su-
perb.
Groats
Distinctively Slovenian dishes are often served
with
žganci,
groats made from barley or corn
but usually
ajda
(buckwheat). A real rib-stick-
er is
ajdovi žganci z ocvirki,
a kind of dense
buckwheat porridge with the savoury addition
Why goose on 15 November? According to legend,
Martin, the man who would be saint, hid himself in
a flock of geese when the faithful were looking for
him to tell him he'd just been made a bishop.
of
ocvirki
(pork crackling or scratchings).
TASTY TRAVEL
Slovenes eat something nobody else does:
polh
(dormouse or loir), a tree-dwelling nocturnal rodent not unlike a
squirrel that grows to about 30cm long and sleeps through several months of the year. But unless you are in No-
tranjska, where it was once a staple, during the loir-hunting season in late September and have friends there, it's
unlikely you'll get to taste this incredible edible varmint.
Like the French, Slovenes have a taste for horse flesh - literally - and are especially fond of ž
rebe
(colt). They
like the taste (it's sweeter than beef or mutton), the low fat and the deep, almost ruby-red colour. You can try it
most easily as a burger at a fast-food outlet called Hot Horse (
Click here
)
in Ljubljana's Park Tivoli.
Dessert
Slovenian cuisine boasts several calorific desserts.
Potica,
a national institution, is a kind
of nut roll (although it's often made with savoury fillings as well) eaten after a meal or at
teatime.
Prekmurska gibanica,
from Slovenia's easternmost province, is a rich concoction
of pastry filled with poppy seeds, walnuts, apples and/or sultanas and cheese and crowned
with cream.
Blejska kremna rezina
is a layer of vanilla custard topped with whipped
cream and sandwiched between two layers of flaky pastry.
