Rateče dumplings are a traditional Slovenian dish, which can be served as a starter, main course, side dish, or even a dessert. Similar dishes can be found across Slovenia and in the neighboring Italy.
Recipe
Filo pastry ingredients:
30 dag of fine wheat flour
1 egg
0.5 dl of lukewarm water
2 dag of oil
A dash of salt
Filling ingredients:
25 dag of polenta
50 dag of cottage cheese
1 teaspoon of tarragon
Sift the flour, make a hole in the middle, and add the oil, egg and salt. Mix the ingredients, add water, and knead for 10 minutes. Make a round loaf from the dough, coat it with oil, and let it stand covered for about half an hour.
Meanwhile, cook the polenta for the filling and let it cool down. Once cooled, add the drained cottage cheese and tarragon, and mix thoroughly.
Place the loaf of dough on a flour-dusted napkin, roll it out and gently spread it out. Make sure the dough is a little thicker than the one used for making strudel. Use a glass to cut out pieces of dough that are about 8 centimeters in diameter and add the filling. Fold them into crescent shapes and press firmly on the edges to close them.
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Cook the dumplings in simmering water for about 15 minutes. The dumplings can be served salted or larded with greaves or breadcrumbs. Another tasty option is to serve the dumplings is with mezelj – a sauce made of flour cooked in a mixture of cream and sour cream. The dessert version of the dumplings can be served either with jam or larded with breadcrumbs, sweetened, and sprinkled with cinnamon powder.
Bon appétit!
Walnut liqueur – A popular homemade liqueur
Walnuts can be found in many traditional Slovenian desserts. From simple cakes and various layered pastries, such as gibanica, to štruklji,pancakes, and the queen of all desserts – walnut potica. But not many people know that walnuts can also be used for making drinks and pressed to make oil. The latter has nearly drifted into oblivion as it has been replaced almost entirely by pumpkin seed oil. In making walnut liqueur, farmers traditionally used unripe walnuts which they would otherwise have thrown away.
The liqueur has beneficial effects on digestion. Much like walnuts themselves, the drink is a natural antioxidant, and it also helps with anemia.
Recipe
Ingredients:
15–20 green walnuts
1 kg of sugar
1–1.5 l of fruit or grape marc spirit
Pick the walnuts at the end of June when the kernels are still white. Wash them thoroughly, smash each nut with a meat tenderizer once or twice, and transfer them in a mason jar. Add sugar and pour in the fruit or grape marc spirit.
It is important not to use plum brandy as the strong aroma of plums would completely drown the nutty walnut aroma.
Tightly seal the mason jar and let it sit in the sun for four to six weeks or until the sugar dissolves completely. Stir with a basting spoon occasionally so speed up the dissolving of the sugar. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, strain the contents of the jar through a fine sift and transfer the liquid to a bottle. The liqueur can be drunk immediately, but it will not have its distinct musky taste until it has matured for at least a year. Before pouring into a glass, turn the bottle upside-down as most of the aroma is hiding in the sediments at the bottom.
Cheers!
