UEFA Euro 2024 Special - Slovenia

Next stop on my Euros adventure is Slovenia...

Sauerkraut and Bean Soup (Kraška jota)

I used the following recipe and made a quicker vegan version.

https://www.slovenian-kitchen.com/blog-1/kraska-jota

Ingredients

• 150 g of beans (can used borlotti; I used a white bean)

• 1 onion

• 1 cloves of garlic

• 250 g sauerkraut

• 500 ml veg stock or as needed

• 200 g potatoes

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 2 bay leaves

• salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

1. If using dried beans soak the dried beans in cold water overnight. Drain the beans and rinse them. Add to a pot  and add enough water to cover them by several centimeters. Add two bay leaves, and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Drain the beans. (If you are using beans from a can simply move to step 2. I bought these white beans that looked like cannellini beans from the local Romanian shop ).
   
   
   
2. Dice the onion and mince the garlic cloves. Peel and dice the potatoes into small cubes.
3. In a large pan or a pot gently heat olive oil.
4. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes until the onion turns translucent.
5. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
6. Stir in stock, 2 bay leaves, potatoes, beans, and sauerkraut.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes or until potatoes and the sauerkraut are cooked.
   
   
   
   
7. Add about 2 tsp of smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste.  
8. The Jota is ready! It can be enjoyed with a slice of bread, or with mashed potatoes.  

 I served with a beautiful tomato salad with pumpkin seed oil which I was pleased to know is one of the key Slovenian ingredients; pumpkins being grown in the eastern Slovenia in Štajerska and Prekmurje with production dating back to early in the 18th century....

"With a glow that suggests liquid amethysts"
Mimi Sheraton - 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die

 

Tomato Salad with Pumpkin Seed Oil

 I used the following receipe and simply veganised it. 

 https://www.slovenian-kitchen.com/blog-1/tomato-salad

Ingredients

    1/2 a large tomato

    1 spring onion

    150 g vegan feta cheese (I used the excellent Marks and Spencer product)

    pumpkin seed oil

    pumpkin seeds

    coarse salt

Instructions

1. Core the tomatoes and slice them into half-moons. Slice the white cheese. Slice the spring onion.
2. Place everything in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin seed oil, coarse salt to taste. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and serve.

Score: Denmark 1  Slovenia 1

Football Score : 3 (Christian Eriksen's brilliant first-half goal was not enough to secure Denmark victory as Slovenia drew with a sweet little goal. ) 

Food: 4 (The tomato salad was a real revelation.... beautifully flavoured by the 'inky sheen'¹ of the pumpkin seed oil - sadly not Slovenian. The bean and sauerkraut soup was not quite as successful, but still a great substantial comfort food... especially if you drizzle some pumpkin seed oil over the top.)

 1 - Mimi Sheraton from 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die