Ljubljana is the capital and the largest city of Slovenia, a city of culture. Also, it is a charming and welcoming city with a green heart. This city offers you not only cultural activities and architectural wonders but also has a delightful gastronomy.
The influences of the Balkans, Italy, Austria, and Hungary can be found everywhere in Ljubljana, but the regional cooking differences stand out the most. These regional differences can sometimes be seen as different names for the same dish. Sometimes it’s different fillings or a different way of preparing the same dish.
Slovenian cuisine mainly focuses on staples such as meat, humble vegetables such as turnips, cabbage, potatoes, and beans, and grains such as buckwheat. It’s also very seasonal, with mushrooms, chestnuts, asparagus, and dandelion appearing prominently when they’re in season.
So, during your visit to Ljublana, you must try at least some of the following dishes of Ljublana, this will help you to know well about the must-try cuisines of Ljublana.
Ajdovi Žganci
Ajdovi žganci is usually recognized as a Slovenian national dish. This Slovenian spoon bread can be made with potato or wheat flour and buckwheat flour.
Dry-frying buckwheat flour for a few minutes yields this quick dish. The fried flour is then added to boiling salted water and cooked for a few minutes more. The cooked sticky dough is then removed from the pot and shredded with a fork to give the dish its traditional žganci appearance.
In Slovenia, there are some regional differences in žganci. In the northern Gorenjska region, for example, they are drier and almost breadcrumb-like, whereas, in the Tajerska region, they more closely resemble dumplings or spoon bread.
žganci is commonly found in traditional Slovenian restaurants in the Gorenjska and Tajerska regions as a topping for hearty mushroom soup or a standalone dish with sour milk. žganci are a wonderful vegetarian staple that is humble in origin.
Špajza and Pri Planinskem Orlu are the best places to have this dish in Ljubljana.
Idrijski Žlikrofi
Idrijski žlikrofi are potato-filled dumplings from the Adriatic region. It is a Slovenian dish from the mining town of Idrija and its surroundings. The dumplings can be served as an appetizer, a main course, or part of the main course.
An authentic žlikrofi normally sizes 3 cm in length and 2 cm in height. This dish is made from simple pasta dough rolled out and filled with a cooked and seasoned potato filling mixed with sautéed onions. After that, the dumplings are shaped into the traditional hat and cooked in boiling water.
Exceptionally tasty on their own, you can usually find them in a meat or vegetarian version with lamb and/or vegetable sauce in most Idrija restaurants.
Gostilna Kos, Gostišče Barbara,Julija and Lectar
Ar best restaurants to try out this delicious dish.
Potica
Potica must be included on any list of popular Slovenian foods. It’s one of Slovenia’s most well-known dishes and desserts, which is made of enriched leavened dough that’s flattened and filled before being rolled into a log and baked, either in a round mold or in logs.
Potica has many fillings, the most common of which is ground walnuts. Other traditional fillings include sweet tarragon, poppy seeds, and hazelnuts, in addition to walnut sand also, Nutella and coconut are popular these days.
Potica, like most Slovenian dishes, has regional variations. A traditional lutrkajca from Idrija with lovage filling or a savory variety with chives or pork cracklings are available. A regional version made with walnuts, pine nuts, and raisins can be found in the Gorika Brda region.
Even today, potica adds a festive air to any Slovenian table and is a staple at any celebration.
Zvezda, GELATERIA ROMANTIKA, Gostilna Sokol, and Gostilna Ledinek are the places you can try this dish.
Obara
Obara is a hearty meat and vegetable soup from Slovenia’s Štajerska region. It differs from other Slovenian stews, such as barley stew, goulash, and yota stew, in that it contains a variety of vegetables and meats.
The stew is usually named after the meat used to make it, with chicken Obara and beef Obara being the most common. Carrots, turnips, green beans, peas, and onions are among the most common vegetables.
Obara was traditionally served as a festive meal on Sundays and Slovenian holidays, but it is now increasingly prepared as an everyday dish. To make the dish more filling, traditional Slovenian gostilna is served with buckwheat or potato žganci.
Golaž
This Slovenian meat stew has both Hungarian and Austrian origins. Golaž, also known as goulash, is made with an equal amount of diced onions, beef flank chunks, tomato paste, and paprika for color and flavor.
Before adding the goulash spices, the onions are sautéed over a low flame until soft. These spices include marjoram, caraway seed, sweet and spicy paprika, and bay leaves. The bay leaf is the most important ingredient; without it, goulash would not be complete.
After the spices are fried, the beef chunks are added and braised in tomato sauce and red wine. The longer you braise the stew, the more flavorful and thick it becomes. It is said that goulash tastes better the next day.
Goulash is traditionally served with a bread roll or polenta, bread dumplings, pasta, potato salad (or puree), or spooned bread.
This hearty dish, one of the most popular meat dishes in Slovenia and other European countries such as Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, and Serbia, can be found on the menus of most traditional Slovenian restaurants and mountain huts. It tastes best after a long day at work or a long hike.
Pohorski Pisker
The Pohorje region of Styria in northeastern Slovenia owns this meaty soup called Pohorski Piske. The stew originated in the Rogla hills and is made up of at least three types of meat, mushrooms, barley, and potatoes.
Always the Slovenian dish has the characteristic of variety. So, this stew is mostly made of meat and vegetables.
According to legend, authentic Pokorski Pisker must be cooked over an open flame with constant stirring so it won’t stick to the bottom of the pot. If you want to try the most authentic version of this dish, go to the festival dedicated to this traditional dish, held in Pohorje every summer.
Ocvirki
This Slovenian food is part of a broad tradition called “Koline.” Ocvirki is the name for pork cracklings. The time when farmers would slaughter pigs before winter is referred to as Koline, and as the result of using all parts of the pigs, pork rinds and fat would be used to make pork cracklings.
Pork cracklings are a byproduct of lard rendering. The rind and fatty parts are boiled to render down the fat and preserve it for cooking. Meanwhile, the skin and meat bits would crisp up in the hot fat and become deliciously crunchy.
Today, cracklings are frequently served as a garnish for žganci. They can be eaten hot with meat or cold as a snack. You can usually find them in mountain huts and traditional Slovenian restaurants in autumn.
Prekmurska Gibanica
Prekmurska gibanica is an EU-protected traditional Slovenian layer cake. As a result, there are very strict rules about the fillings and how they should be arranged, even down to the height of the cake.
Prekmurska gibanica is a traditional Slovenian cake made with a shortcrust dough base, followed by a layer of filo pastry. The fillings are layered in the following order: poppy seeds, cottage cheese, walnuts, and apples. It must have eight layers of filling, with two layers of each filling, to be considered a true Prekmurska gibanica.
This is an EU-protected traditional Slovenian layer cake. So, there are very strict rules about the fillings and how they should be arranged, even down to the height of the cake.
Güjžina, Rajh, and Šestica are the restaurants you can have this cuisine here in Ljubljana.
Kranjska Klobasa
Kranjska klobasa is a traditional Slovenian sausage. This sausage has the name of the largest historical Slovenian region – Kranjska or Carniola. This Slovenian food bears the name of Kranjska, the largest historical Slovenian region. It is a lightly smoked, semi-cured sausage that must be cooked before consumption.
Kranjska klobasa was traditionally made during pig slaughter in late October or November. It’s made with 75-80% pork meat and 25%-20% cured bacon. After that, the sausages are lightly smoked with beech wood.
Traditionally, the sausage is served warm with sauerkraut or sour turnips, or it is cooked and then served cold with grated horseradish, mustard, and a bread roll. They’re frequently used in barley stews and hearty soups nowadays.
Kranjska klobasa is most commonly found on the menus of traditional Slovenian restaurants in the Gorenjska and Tajerska regions. Kranjska klobasa, like goulash, is a hearty dish best enjoyed on a cold winter day or in a mountain hut after a long day of hiking.
Kremna Rezina
Kremna Rezina is an extremely popular dessert in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Therefore, you can try it from almost any pastry shop in Slovenia. so be sure to test a slice.
It is a traditional Slovenian dessert popularized in 1953 at the Park Hotel in one of Slovenia’s most famous landmarks, Lake Bled. Still, you can taste the original while admiring the beautiful lake.
Kremna Rezina is a “cream slice,” which refers to a layer of pastry cream and whipped cream sandwiched between two layers of crisp puff pastry. A generous sprinkling of icing sugar finishes the slice.
Aside from Slovenia, Kremna Rezina is popular in many other European countries, where it is known by various names such as Cremeschnitte in Germany, Kremowka Papieska in Poland) and Krémes in Hungary.
So, This city of greenery warmly welcomes you to feel the beauty with the mix of its wonderful history. Also, do not forget to taste these delicious dishes of Ljubljana.
