26 Aug in Food and drink Rogaška Slatina is located in the eastern part of the beautiful country of Slovenia, where besides the beauty of the nature, you can explore a diverse national cuisine. Slovenia is a small country but like its regions, it offers a wide selection of national dishes which reflect the region they originate from. Prleška tünka is a product from Prlekija in eastern Slovenia and is made of minced lard and pork. It is often offered with home-made bread. Prekmurska gibanica (Prekmurian layer cake) is a type of layered cake. It contains poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins and ricotta. Although native to the Prekmurje region, it has achieved the status of a national specialty in Slovenia. Its name, gibanica, comes from the dialectical expression güba, which means fold. When you are in this eastern part of Slovenia, almost at the Hungarian border, you should not miss these dishes. Matevž (puréed beans with cracklings) is typical of central Slovenia, especially of the Kočevsko region. It is made of beans and potatoes. Its origins come from the 19th century. Originally the lower social classes ate it as a main course. The term matevž is a derivative of the male name Matej or Matevž (Matthew). Matej or Matevž has links to many other dialectical expressions: to have matevža means to have a hangover. The dish is usually served with sauerkraut or turnips. At Grand Hotel Rogaška, you can try it out at dinner where we prepare typical Slovenian dishes. This, of course, is one of them. Ajdovi žganci: a dish which is also very typical for Slovenia and I can tell you, it does not look as yummy as it tastes but it is a healthy food. In English, it would be called „buckwheat spoonbread”. The word žganci is derived from the Slovenian verb žgati meaning „to burn“ or „to toast”. Ajdovi žganci are served together with obaras, meat sauces, sauerkraut, black pudding and various sausages – so this reduces the health factor a bit 🙂 Štuklji is also a dish which is served in all regions in Slovenia, mainly as a side dish, however they can be either cooked or baked, and can have a wide range of fillings. The filling can be either sweet or savoury. The most common fillings are apple, walnut, poppy seed, cottage cheese and tarragon. The chosen filling is then spread onto the sheet of dough, and the dough is then formed into a roll. Štruklji can also be made by mixing cottage cheese into the ingredients above, and cooking the dough. All the meat lovers; you will definitely love Krvavice. It is a Slovenian pork sausage made of blood, rice and meat and they are usually made when a slaughter takes place. Historically, preparing this food was like a ceremony because all the relatives and neighbours took part in it. It is baked and it tastes very crispy on the outside. If you know »black pudding«, this is a kind of Slovenian version of it. Fortunately (or not), Slovene people are also very good at preparing several different types of alcoholic drinks. Among them is Borovničke. It is a kind of brandy made of blueberries. It is very sweet and needs to be consummated in small amounts, like any kind of alcoholic drink. It is usually served at small private parties or when friends get together; especially among students. However, this drink goes very well with cold cuts which you can taste at any of the tourist farms across Slovenia. These are merely ideas of what you can try while visiting Slovenia – there is a lot more and we will make some more recommendations in future blogs. For now, we wish you bon appétit! And do not drink too many Borovničkas 🙂
