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November |
St.
Martin's day
Roast goose with red cabbage and
mlinci (baked noodles), young wine and / or must (must turns
into wine after fermentation)
Celebrating st. Martin’s
day in Slovenia
On 11 November,
Slovenians celebrate the St Martin’s Day or Martinmas, when must
turns into wine. On this day, traditional festivities,
wine-tasting and general merry-making take place nationwide, so
many Slovenes set off to different wine-producing regions, where
they taste local wines in traditional wine cellars.
The celebration begins with the 'blessing' of the young wine.
However, a traditional party is not complete without a selection
of hearty dishes and culinary delights, including rich roast
goose with mlinci and red cabbage to accompany the excellent
wines.
The feast coincides with pagan rituals, when farmers celebrated
festivities of light, harvest and fertility. In the Medieval
Ages it coincided with the settling of debts with feudal lords.
Even the Slovenian national anthem, Zdravljica ('A Toast'), by
France Prešeren, testifies to the long tradition and love of
wine-making, as the lyrics go: "The vintage, friends, is over, /
And here sweet wine makes, once again, / Sad eyes and hearts
recover, / Puts fire into every vein." Whoever likes Slovenia
also loves its vineyards, stretching across the landscape and
many regions, which produce an excellent range of wines for
every taste.
Slovenia has one of the oldest viticulture traditions in Europe,
which has been influenced by French, German and Italian wine
making. The government has established a system of wine origin
certification and quality control. Wine must be tasted before it
acquires a trading permit.
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St. Martin’s goose recipe
Ingredients:
1 goose
salt
pepper
marjoram
caraway seed
5 apples
200g chestnuts
6 shallots
30g lard
25ml grape brandy
100ml wine |
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Clean and wash the goose, then dry it with paper towels. Rub it
with salt on the outside and with salt, pepper, marjoram and
crushed caraway seed on the inside. Stuff it with sliced apples,
cooked and peeled chestnuts, and shallots sautéed in lard. To
ensure that the stuffing remains in place, sew up the hole. Put
the goose into a pan on its back, add 100 ml of wine, and roast
in the oven at 210°C for 90 minutes. Turn it around a few times
during that time, basting it occasionally, so that a light brown
crust is formed. Pour over the brandy a few minutes before it is
done. When the goose has a nice brownish crust, put it in
another dish and remove the grease from the pan. Add the liquid
and bring to the boil. Pour the gravy on the goose and serve
with mlinci and red cabbage. |
Mlinci (baked pasta tatters)
Ingredients:
350g flour
1 tbsp oil
2 eggs
dressing:
60g butter or 100g pork crackling or onion sautéed in pork fat
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Mix the flour, oil, eggs and
water and knead into dough. The dough should be slightly harder
than for noodles. Knead well, slice into pieces, and shape each
piece into a small round loaf. Roll out the dough to the
thickness of a knife blade.
Put into a greased baking tin and bake at 170 °C until delicate
brown. When baked, break the mlinci and put into a bowl. Pour
over salted boiling water, with a pinch of cumin and a bay leaf.
Cover for 10 minutes, then drain and pour over the dressing. Mix
and serve as a side dish to goose and braised red cabbage. |
Braised red cabbage
Ingredients:
1kg of red cabbage
salt
vinegar
cumin
50ml oil
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. chopped onions
10g flour
1 apple |
Wash the cabbage, dry it, slice
it, add salt and cumin, and sprinkle with vinegar. Heat the oil
in a frying pan and add sugar. When the sugar starts to
caramelize, add the onions. Sauté until the onions are
transparent, then add the cabbage and grated apple. Simmer the
cabbage on a low heat and stir several times. Towards the end,
sprinkle with the flour, add half a ladle of boiling water, and
let it cook for a little while. If desired, add sugar, vinegar
or wine. |
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