When you visit Slovenia, you get potatoes!

Roast potato as an independent dish

Since the 19th century, the most widely known and popular dish in Slovenia, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, and eaten during the week as well, has been roast potatoes. Roast potatoes are also a mandatory dish for a typical lunch in the capital of Slovenia. If you wish to try really good roast potatoes, then visit one of the Jezeršek restaurants. They use the Bellarosa potato variety, which has red skin and yellow flesh. It was selected at an internal competition in which it was the winner among five different varieties in the category of Jezeršek roast potato. The Jezeršek family buys potato from local suppliers. And what is their recommended recipe for delicious roast potato?

Jezeršek roast potato

Ingredients:

• potato
• brown onion
• dry pork cracklings

• beef soup

Preparation:

Cook the potato in its skin, then peel it, allow it to cool and slice it thinly. Sauté the finely chopped brown onion in oil and add dry cracklings. When the cracklings start to sizzle, add the cooled sliced potato. Then start roasting. First, add the soup so that the potato soaks in all the good qualities of the beef soup. The potato will then form a crust, which will create the right flavour together with the starch, cracklings and sweet onion. Potato prepared in this way does not need anything else (e.g. meat). Be generous with the onion and cracklings.

Visit website

Roast potatoes as a distinct dish

Since 2001, the Society for the Recognition of Roasted Potatoes as a Distinct Dish has been organising the annual World Roast Potato Festival, where visitors can taste this potato dish prepared in over a hundred ways. The festival usually takes place in September, and is held in a different place every year.

Visit website

The Society is also responsible for the erection of a potato monument, which can be seen in Šenčur, a place that is said to be the home to the most potato farmers in Slovenia. The monument to this venerable tuber is also a monument to Empress Maria Theresa, who introduced mandatory potato planting in Slovenian crown lands during her reign in the 18^th century.

When traditional flirts with modern

The potato is an indispensable part of Slovenian traditional and modern cuisine. The Repovž family has an organic farm and owns a genuine countryside inn where they cater for culinary nostalgics and seekers of modern combinations of local ingredients. This also applies to potato dishes. Potatoes are grown organically by the family, guaranteeing a good basis for the preparation of authentic dishes. We offer two delicious recipes: the first one being more traditional and the second one having a modern touch.

Beetroot gnocchi

Ingredients:

• 250 g of cooked and peeled potato
• 80 g of flour (half of hard and half of soft flour)
• 15 g of butter
• salt
• 1/2 egg

• 5 g of beetroot powder

Preparation:

Prepare the beetroot powder by cutting young fresh beetroot into thin slices and drying them overnight at a low temperature (maximum 40°C). Once they are completely dry, finely grind them in a blender.

Cook the potato in salt water. Remove the water, peel the potato and mash it. Add the egg, flour, butter, salt (if necessary) and beetroot powder in the potato, which should not be too hot. Quickly mix everything into a dough. Form long strips and cut them into 2 cm long gnocchi. Cook the gnocchi in boiling salt water until they rise to the surface. If you wish, fry them in a hot pan or roast them in breadcrumbs before serving.

Potato foam

Ingredients:

• 250 g of potato
• 75 g of cream
• 75 g of milk
• salt
• pepper

• nutmeg

Preparation:

Peel the potato and cut it into larger chunks. Cook it in cream and milk (fifty-fifty) and season to taste. Blend it until smooth in a blender/thermomix. If necessary, add some milk. Pour the mixture into your whipped cream dispenser and use 1 to 2 scoops to dispense the potato foam.

Enjoy!

Visit website

Potato festivals around Slovenia

The World Roast Potato Festival is only one of the unusual festivals that you can experience in different parts of Slovenia. Every region also offers festivals celebrating various dishes, including a plethora of those involving potatoes. In the countryside, these festivals include largest potato competitions, and games such as potato throwing or blindfolded potato digs. Potato Night is organised in Bovec every August and the traditional Frikafest takes place in Tolmin in October.

Explore other culinary events around Slovenia where you’re likely to encounter potatoes as well.

Welcome to the land of gastronomic pleasures!

Irrespective of where you choose to eat, you’ll always find something to suit you. Slovenia has great traditional and modern cuisine full of diverse flavours. If you can, visit the establishments of the best Slovenian chefs and don't forget that Slovenian specialities also make great souvenirs.