Slovenia
Day of Uprising Against Occupation
So a brief history of our evening…
“This state holiday is always celebrated on 27 April. It may also be known as ‘Day of uprising against Occupation’ and in Slovenian, it is known as ‘Dan upora proti okupatorju’.
Resistance Day commemorates the establishment of the Slovenian Liberation Front in 1941.” (Office Holidays)
Now onto the food!
..the plate..
Not the most colorful presentation, but everything was scrumptious. Here we have some mushroom soup, potica, cabbage rolls, and aubergine and pepper caviare.
..stuffed cabbage..
So I chose to make Slovenian Style Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. They were pretty tasty. I am not the biggest fan of cabbage rolls. I hated them when I was a kid, but I’ve come around on them and these were good! Funny for a person who doesn’t love cabbage rolls I have two of my own cabbage roll recipes now! I think next time I’ll make it deconstructed like my other recipe for Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage, because I had a hell of a time boiling that big old head of cabbage. Brian and I nearly scalded ourselves dropping it into the vat of boiling h2o. Then taking it out it dropped and splashed on me. It really was a mess.
To make these rolls “Slovenian” the common thread was covering those bad boys with sauerkraut. I used Trader Joe’s Raw Fermented kraut, and they had little pickles in there, which gave them a nice touch I thought. Another thing that made these Slovenian style was cooking the onion first in bacon fat or lard. For mine I used Earth Balance and some Bac’n bits, used crumbled tofu for the beef, and a half a package of Gimme Lean Lightlife Sausage.
Click here for the recipe for my Vegan Slovenian Style Cabbage Rolls, or scroll on to the bottom of this page.
..mushroom soup..
I didn’t take the best photo of this soup unfortunately, but it was very good. Danielle used a recipe from Homemade Slovenian Food, but made a few modifications. She used 3 kinds of mushrooms, Baby Bella, Shiitake, and Porcini. Click here for Danielle’s recipe or find it at the bottom of the page…you know the drill.
..aubergine and pepper caviare..
Ann made this yummy side dish…Here’s her experience…
“I do my grocery shopping on Sundays and don’t cook until Wednesdays so I look for ingredients that will keep that long or that I can freeze. Also, since I don’t normally cook, I obviously look for something that’s going to be super easy and quick.
The only tricky thing to this recipe was the eggplant since it’s been a long time since I’ve cooked with fresh versus frozen. I wish I had known to skin it before cooking it, which was difficult.
I see this recipe as a refreshing, cool “summer salad” though I suppose you could also treat it as a dip with some nice crackers or pita bread 🙂“
I agree that this one would have been awesome with some crackers or bread. If we were to make it again that’s how I would serve it. Some modifications she made from the original recipe from All Easy Recipes.
“-Served 2-4, so I used 2 eggplants instead of one & used a whole bag of the smaller peppers – also to add variety of colors
-Didn’t specify how long to cook the eggplant, but I did mine for about 30 minutes
-Would also like to add to skin the eggplant BEFORE cooking
-Left out the onion because Scott had used the one I had the night before & didn’t have time to go to the store to get another one
-Substituted olive oil for salad oil (peanut oil & vegetable oil were other substitutes, per google search)
-Didn’t have straight up vinegar so I used white distilled vinegar
-The “very little vinegar” it called for, I used about 2 teaspoons“
Eggplants can be very “high maintenance” so I try to use Chinese eggplants in most recipes. They do not need to be peeled or seeded, and don’t have the bitter flavor that most eggplants have. I hear in California they are available at most supermarkets, but here in Florida I have to make a stop at the Asian or Indian Market, Clemons Produce has them sometimes, but I can’t depend on it.
I had a bit of this stuff leftover from Thursday and I added it to some pita pockets with seasoned lentils, spinach, and a creamy cucumber sauce. Great addition!!
..potica..
Julie made this rockin sweet bread. It was neat to have a dessert offering on the table this week. Loved this stuff…maybe too much. I cut myself a large slice for leftovers and ate the entire thing like a starving rat in my kitchen the next morning. Loads of recipes this week. Click here for Julie’s Potica or find it below!
So that’s it for Slovenia. A few of our contributors couldn’t make it this week, but it was still a great variety and enough to fill all our bellies! Next week I’m still working out, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be celebrating Star Wars Day…
Cabbage Rolls Slovenian Style with Sauerkraut and Cooked Onions
- 1 green cabbage boiled
- 1 tbsp flaxmeal, mixed with 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp earth balance
- 2 tsp bac'n bits
- 1 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 12 oz pkg tofu crumbles
- .5 pkg gimme lean sausage
- 4 tbsp tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp parsley minced
- 2 tsp dried mint optional
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 lb sauerkraut drained
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Boil cabbage and remove leaves. Shave the hard rib from each leaf.
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Mix flax with water and set aside for at least 5 minutes.
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Saute onion in butter and bacon bits. Add garlic and rice to toast for the last minute.
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Add onion mixture and flax with the tofu - salt and pepper in a large bowl.
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Cover bottom of casserole with some tomato sauce and small or broken cabbage leaves.
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Add about 2 heaping tablespoons of mix into each roll and place in casserole dish. Repeat until done, about 12 rolls fit nicely into a 9x13.
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Cover rolls with crushed tomatoes and top that with the sauerkraut. Cover that with a few small or broken cabbage leaves. Add a little broth or water, about 1 cup, but do not overfill, as you'll boil over during the cooking.
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Cook covered in foil for 2 hours. Let sit for a few before serving. Remove top leaves and serve.
Adapted From Homemade Slovenian Food
- 1 container of Baby Bella Mushrooms
- 1 container of Shitake Mushrooms
- 1 container of dried Porcini Mushrooms
- 10 petite red potatoes , peeled and chopped
- Sprigs of fresh thyme to taste (I used about 3)
- 2 or 3 bay leaves
- A pinch of sage
- 2 medium to large-ish carrots , peeled and sliced
- 1 32 oz . container of low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 cloves garlic , crushed
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/2-1 tsp Agave nectar
- 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- Garlic powder to taste (or use more fresh garlic if you prefer)
- Paprika to taste
- Fresh or dry parsley to taste
- 2 tbsp Buckwheat grains (optional)
- Sour Cream to garnish
- 2-3 tbsp Olive oil
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Soak porcini mushrooms in hot water.
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Pan fry onion and garlic in about 1 to 1 ½ tbsp. olive oil quickly over med-high heat until you start to see caramelization, about 1 to 2 minutes. Place onions and garlic into crockpot with the potatoes, carrots, sage, and thyme.
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Strain the porcini mushrooms and save the soaking liquid. Squeeze remaining liquid from the porcinis and add them and liquid to the pot. Add in the rest of the mushrooms.
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Pour vegetable broth into the pot and add in water until all the vegetables are covered. Stir.
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If using a crockpot, set to low and let cook for about 8 hours. After 8 hours, strain out some of the potatoes and mash them. Add potato mash back to pot.
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If using buckwheat grains, soak them in hot water for about 5 to 10 minutes, strain and add to pot after 8 hours.
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Start adding in the remaining olive oil, salt, pepper, agave, vinegar, garlic powder, and paprika. Make any adjustments you’d like to get the taste you want.
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Let simmer another 20 or 30 minutes.
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Serve with sour cream.
Adapted from Roti and Rice. Currently a placeholder. Waiting on Instructions. Will edit when complete.
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3 to 4 cups all purpose flour
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1 packet active dry yeast
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1/4 cup lukewarm water
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3/4 cup cashew milk
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4 tbsp vegan butter spread (I used Earth's Best)
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4 tbsp organic sugar
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1 tsp salt
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2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 6 tbsp water
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16 ounces walnuts ground into a paste
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2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 6 tbsp water
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3 tbsp cashew milk
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4 tbsp vegan butter spread
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3 tbsp organic brown sugar
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cinnamon to taste
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crushed pecans (optional)
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