HOMEMADE SLOVENIAN FOOD : AJDOV KRAPEC - BUCKWHEAT CAKE with COTTAGE CHEESE

HOMEMADE SLOVENIAN FOOD : AJDOV KRAPEC - BUCKWHEAT CAKE with COTTAGE CHEESE: Traditional buckwheat cake with cottage cheese can be sweet or savoury dish. It can be served as a delicious and healthy dessert, a very ta...

AJDOV KRAPEC - BUCKWHEAT CAKE with COTTAGE CHEESE

Traditional buckwheat cake with cottage cheese can be sweet or savoury dish. It can be served as a delicious and healthy dessert, a very tasty appetiser or a side dish. The cake was traditionally baked in special bread oven built of bricks, which made the cake even more delicious.

Buckwheat cake with cottage cheese

BUCKWHEAT BREAD WITH WALNUTS - SOBA BREAD

Every part of the world has some basic foods typical for their cuisine. For example, while an important basic food in Asia is rice, in the West is corn, wheat, bread... In many countries bread was or still is the basic, everyday food, which can be consumed as a main dish or as a side with almost every meal. 
Bread plays a special, very significant role in Slovenian diet and in Slovenian tradition. In the past every farmer's household baked their own bread in Krušna peč - special bread owen that was built of bricks and ceramics and was the centre of the house. Baking day was a special day. A day when bread was made  for the hole week. The hole house and air around it smelled on freshly baked bread - for many the smell of "home".

Buckwheat-Soba bread with walnuts

HOMEMADE SLOVENIAN FOOD : SWEET BUCKWHEAT POCKETS - SWEET BUCKWHEAT DUMPLING...

HOMEMADE SLOVENIAN FOOD : SWEET BUCKWHEAT POCKETS - SWEET BUCKWHEAT DUMPLING...: This is my variation of Traditional Slovenian dish from Kozjansko region - Kozjansko Carps -   Buckwheat Carps/link to the recipe.   Somet...

SWEET BUCKWHEAT POCKETS - SWEET BUCKWHEAT DUMPLINGS

This is my variation of Traditional Slovenian dish from Kozjansko region - Kozjansko Carps - Buckwheat Carps/link to the recipe.  Something that you can serve as a delicious and also healthy desert with a very traditional Slovenian taste of buckwheat, walnuts, dry fruits and honey.

Sweet buckwheat pockets

BUCKWHEAT SPOON BREAD - AJDOVI ŽGANCI

Ajdovi žganci is a traditional Slovenian dish made of buckwheat flour and water. More than a century ago, žganci was considered to be basic food for most of the people and very important for their survival. Žganci was made for breakfast to provide necessary energy for farmers' hard work during the day. For many people žganci was a substitute for bread. The dish was served not only as a main dish for breakfast and dinner, but also as a side dish with some other traditional dishes such as mushroom soup and different stews for lunch. 

Buckwheat-soba žganci with pork cracklings.

BUCKWHEAT PORRIDGE CAKE WITH PLUMS

Buckwheat is today highly appreciated plant. It is  healthy and doesn't contain any gluten. It can grove in poor soil and  harsh climate conditions and farmers don't need to use any pesticides.   

Buckwheat Porridge Cake with plums.

KOZJANSKO BUCKWHEAT POCKETS - KOZJANSKO CARPS

This traditional Slovenian  dish is from Kozjansko region. It is one of many traditional buckwheat dishes which are becoming more and more popular. Kozjansko carps can be served as an appetizer, as a main dish as well as a side dish with different meat dishes. It can be  also very tasty and healthy vegetarian dish. 

Kozjansko Karps garnished with roasted bread crumbs.

OBRNENK - UBRNJENIK - OBRNJENEK

Is a traditional dish made of buckwheat flour from the Upper Savinja Valley, around Luče, a very picturesque village near the road to the famous Logarska Valley. 

Buckwheat dumplings - Obrnenk 

ŽLIKROFI with SPINACH and COTTAGE CHEESE

We make the dough same as for IDRIJA ŽLIKROFI. As for the filling we can be very creative and try to do our own version, recipe. I will make few different kinds of žlikrofi today as follows.

ŽLIKROFI stuffed with Spinach and Cottage cheese 

Ingredients for the filling:

200 g fresh Spinach

200 g Cottage cheese - or Tofu

1 egg

1-2 tbs of semolina or bread crumbs

2 cloves of garlic

Vegetable oil or ghee

Salt

Black pepper 

Nutmeg

Put spinach into boiling water for a few minutes until it is cooked, then we chop or blend it and drain all water out. Put vegetable oil or ghee in the pan, add garlic, stir for a few seconds, and add spinach and all the spices. 

Wait until it cools down a bit and then add it to Cottage cheese. Add egg and mix all well together. 

Spinach - wash, cook add spices

Cottage cheese - skuta

The filling must not be too soft. To make it thicker, add breadcrumbs or semolina.

Mix spinach with skuta, egg

and semolina to make it thicker.

Now we can make our žlikrofi as we did before. 

Roll the dough over the filling, and pinch it together. Press the edges firmly, so they stick. Press each one down in the middle, to get the right shape, but be careful not to break the dough.  

Place the filling on the rolled dough.

Make  zlikrofi as in previous recipe.

Cook them in salty boiling water until they float on the surface. Drain them and serve as you want - it can be in the soup or dashi instead of noodles or with meat stew, mushroom and cream sauce etc.

This time I served them in chicken soup - all kind of vegetables, chicken, water, spices. Cook on low fire one to two hours.   

Cook the broth from chicken, 

vegetables and spices.

Clear chicken soup with žlikrof.

More photos on this link!