It was so charming and welcoming, as if I was invited into my friend’s kitchen. Bohinj pork lard spread with Kranjska sausage, the ramson spread and a glass of cviček wine were teasing me. I dipped a piece of homemade bread into extra virgin olive oil from Slovenian Istria and tasted cottage cheese with pumpkin seed oil. What a gorgeous taste. „Welcome.“ greeted me Špela and Mateja who have been running culinary workshops of authentic Slovenian food in Ljubljana for 2 years. I tantalized my taste buds with more typical Slovenian products. And elderberry syrup was just one of them 😉

Let a culinary journey around Slovenia begin! We started preparing all kinds of Slovenian food. For a warm starter we prepared frtalja with Karst region prosciutto and herbs. Frtalja, which actually originates from Italy, is an egg omelette with various Mediterranean herbs and eggs. Yummy frtalja goes well with a glass of ribolla white wine. Na zdravje! Do you know that in village Višnjevik in Goriška brda an annual ribolla festival is hold?! Read more about the festival here. Meanwhile, we were blending and kneading a dough for cottage cheese štruklji until it was smooth and elastic. First štruklji appeared in Austria (Graz) back in 1540. Do not be surprised by the fact that there are more than 80 different štruklji varieties in Slovenia, both sweet and savory, and once you know how to make štruklji, you know cooking 🙂

For a main dish we tasted štruklji with cottage cheese filling, sauce from seasonal mushrooms (summer cep/porcini, chanterelles), pork fillet and a glass of refosco wine from Primorska wine region. For a dessert we prepared mouth-watering millet with apples and honey and tasted a glass of Laški Riesling wine from Štajerska wine region. We ended this excellent evening with frakelj (a glass for brandies or liqueurs) of homemade blueberry schnapps.

Highlights:
– learning how to make 4 delicious Slovenian culinary delights
– hands-on and easy to follow activity
– knowledgeable staff with a bunch of how to survive in the kitchen experiences
– seasonal ingredients from small scale local producers
– lots of fun with fellow foodies and locals.

Good food and a glass of wine connects people! Dober tek in na zdravje!