If, like me, you are geographically challenged, you may be asking yourself just where, exactly, is Slovenia.
By Pat Tanner Special Writer
If, like me, you are geographically challenged, you may be asking yourself just where, exactly, is Slovenia. Because I am so murky on that part of the world, I am still lost after reading in Heike Milhench’s “Flavors of Slovenia: Food an Wine from Central Europe’s Hidden Gem” (Hippocrene, $24.95) that it has a coastline on the Adriatic, contains the foothills of the Alps, and counts among its neighbors Hungary, Austria, Italy and the Balkan republics. (*Pop quiz: Name the Balkan republics.)
History puts me on firmer ground, so in the many fascinating sidebars to this charming collection of 200 recipes I learn than Slovenia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and that it achieved independence from what was Yugoslavia in 1991. Its culinary touchstones make it even clearer: salt cod that the Italians call baccala is bakala; friko are hearty potato and cheese pancakes that the Istrian-born Italian chef Lidia Bastianich knows as frico (without the potatoes). Goulash, strudels and dumplings conjure Slovenia’s Middle European neighbors. Milhench does an outstanding job of explaining how Slovenian fare, as well as this beautiful country of 2 million, is similar to its neighbors yet unique. (Dormouse stew, anyone?)
I literally read this cookbook cover to cover, equally enthralled by the recipes and the country. Among the surprising facts: Slovenians love to play golf and enjoy a haggis-like dish of pig or veal lung; this beer-loving country makes a salad of hops; modern bee- keeping methods were “invented” here; it is more common to see turkey than chicken on menus; Lipizzaner horses come from and are bred in the Slovenian town of Lipica; its beautiful capital city, Ljubljana, retains extensive Art Nouveau buildings, even though many were destroyed under communist rule. I have put Slovenia on my “must visit” list, but until I get there, I’ll enjoy the recipes below, all gently adapted from “Flavors of Slovenia.”
MUSHROOM STRUDEL
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter
12 ounces fresh mushrooms, any combination of cremini, shiitake, oyster, and button, cleaned and sliced
1 egg
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 slices white bread (sourdough adds a nice flavor), crusts removed, cubed
1 clove garlic, minced
Freshly ground pepper to taste
3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a baking sheet with 1 of the tablespoons of butter.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a skillet or saucepan. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 12 to 15 minute, or until the mushrooms are tender and all the liquid has evaporated. Cool.
3. In a bowl, beat together the egg, heavy cream, and Dijon mustard. Mix together with the cooled mushrooms, bread cubes, garlic, pepper, and the cream mixture.
4. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Roll out 1 of the phyllo sheets and brush with melted butter. Spread one-third of the mushroom mixture on the sheet, leaving a 2- to 3-inch margin on each side of the sheet. Fold up the left and right sides of the pastry over the mixture, then roll the pastry into a strudel, sealing the end of the dough with a dab of melted butter. Repeat the above with the remaining phyllo and mushroom mixture. Place the strudels on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until browned.
Serves 6 as an appetizer; 3 as a main meal.
APPLE AND CELERY SALAD
For the salad:
1 head endive, cleaned and separated
3 tart red apples, such as Macoun, McIntosh, or Cortland, cored and sliced thin
1 stalk celery, cut into chunks
¼ pound smoked Gouda cheese, or any other hard cheese, sliced thin
¼ cup hazelnuts, toasted
Black olives for garnish (optional)
For the dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1 shallot, peeled and minced
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Arrange the salads on individual plates: Begin by arranging 2 or 3 endive leaves on each plate. Then sprinkle the apples, celery, cheese, and hazelnuts on top. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, shallot, and salt and pepper. Just before serving, drizzle the dressing over the salads. Garnish with the black olives, if using.
Serves 4.
TURKEY CUTLETS WITH GORGONZOLA SAUCE
For the turkey:
6 pieces boneless, skinless turkey breast (about 1½ pounds)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced.
For the Gorgonzola sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
½ pound Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
½ to 1 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Fresh minced parsley or grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional
1. Pound the turkey breasts until they are tenderized. Coat the cutlets with flour. In a skillet, heat the olive oil or butter. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the turkey cutlets to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cutlets are nicely browned on the outside and the meat is cooked through.
2. To make the sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the Gorgonzola and cream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. (The sauce should be slightly thick. Add more cream if necessary.) Season with pepper.
3. Serve the cutlets covered with the Gorgonzola sauce and garnished with parsley or Parmesan, if desired.
Serves 6.
* Balkan republics, by alphabetical order: Albania, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, (the Former Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia — plus Kosovo, if and when the hotly disputed Serbian province becomes an independent state. There is considerable dispute whether Greece and Romania are properly “Balkan” nations, as Greece lies south of the Balkan Mountains and Romania lies north of the Danube River, but Romania is usually included. Anyone wishing to stay out of trouble is advised to refer to the entire peninsula as Southeastern Europe.
— Michael Redmond