| Slovenian cooking is one of Europe's best-kept | | | | for a truly unforgettable experience. |
| secrets. Due to outside influences on the cuisine of | | | | Slovenians definitely believe in eating their vegetables |
| Slovenia throughout its history, there are many and | | | | as well - salads are nearly ubiquitous in any Slovene |
| varied culinary traditions to be found in this small | | | | menu. Seafood also takes a more prominent place |
| country. Organic foods are prevalent in Slovenia - and | | | | than in most cuisines of Eastern Europe. With |
| forget about fast food! Slovenian food is slow food | | | | Slovenian cuisine, you truly get the best of all worlds. |
| (and the organized slow food movement has quite a | | | | Some restaurants specialize in traditional Slovene |
| following in the country). Slovenes consider sitting | | | | food, which is often venison based. |
| down for a meal to be a human right. Read on for | | | | Soup's on! |
| more information about the culinary heritage of this | | | | To the Slovene's it's not really a meal unless there's |
| nation. | | | | soup. Favorites include zelenjavna juha (vegetable |
| An Impressive Variety | | | | soup), goveja juha z rezanci (beef broth with thin |
| Slovenia boasts more than a thousand distinct | | | | egg noodles) or gobova kremna juha (creamed |
| national dishes - truly a dizzying (and delicious) array | | | | mushroom soup). |
| of options await you at a Slovene table. These | | | | Baked delicacies |
| dishes have regional variants, with some recipes being | | | | Potica, a sort of cake roll featuring raisins, walnuts |
| found only in the place of their origin. | | | | and herbs is a Slovenian favorite. My own dear |
| Strong influence from Slovenia's neighbors | | | | Slovene grandmother made the best one, of course! |
| Some parts of Slovenia once belonged to Italy, so it | | | | Versions exist with cottage cheese and poppy seeds |
| is no surprise to see pasta dishes and pizza on a | | | | also. |
| Slovene menu. Zlinkrofi, a sort of ravioli, are also a | | | | Gibanica is another must-have. |
| good example. All of Slovenia was once part of the | | | | This is a pastry which can be filled with a variety of |
| Austro-Hungarian Empire, which brought many | | | | different things, most often walnuts, poppy seeds, |
| sausages and other meat dishes into the Slovene | | | | cheese or apple with a cream topping! Slovenes are |
| culinary tradition. From Austria come zavitek and | | | | also big fans of ice cream at dessert time. |
| Dunajski zrezek, or strudel and wiener schnitzel, | | | | Burek - A Snack to Go! |
| respectively. From the Balkans come kebabs. The | | | | There is one popular sort of traditional "fast food" to |
| Hungarians brought their golaz (goulash) paprikas | | | | be found in this bastion of slow food. This is the |
| (stew) and palacinke (pancakes). | | | | Burek, coming to Slovenia from the Balkans and a |
| This is a cuisine clearly not afraid to adopt dishes | | | | popular snack everywhere from Istanbul to Ljubljana. |
| from its neighbors, with Italian, Croatian, Hungarian | | | | These are typically filled with meat, cheese or apples |
| and Austrian dishes all having found a place at the | | | | and are a sort of layered, puff pastry based pie. |
| tables of Slovenes. This great variety, combined with | | | | They can be found at many takeout restaurants. |
| the hospitality for which Slovenia is famous makes | | | | |