Bled, Slovenia

On our way to Switzerland, we stopped at Lake Bled in Slovenia.  I didn't know what to expect.  I was blown away.  The area is fantastic.

While I was there, I was able to take a cooking class in Modern Slovenian cooking.  The chef was great and I got to actually work in the kitchen instead of being a by-stander.

The first dish that we prepared that was actually my responsibility was: a trout roll bohinj with St. Jacob mussels and mint roasted in a herb crust served with spring vegetables and served with a white fish and prawn sauce.  We started by placing the filleted, skinned trout skin side down on plastic wrap.  Then I was in charge in pounding it out to make a bit bigger piece.  But be gentle!  Then, spread the mussels that were pureed with egg white and mixed with mint and cream.  Season the fish, roll up, then wrap tightly in plastic.  Cook at 350 F until the fish is 90 F inside.  Don't worry, you will cook it again.  Chill thoroughly.  Whisk two eggs, then roll in basil seasoned bread crumbs. *  Chill again, then when ready to serve, bake at 400 F until the the breadcrumbs are golden brown (5 min.).  Serve with small diced veg that you have sauteed.  Please don't ask how to make the sauces.  I have no idea as those were made before the class.

The next dish was a saddle of lamb in butter pastry with pepper gnocchi and carrot cream sauce.  The lamb was poached just enough to hold it's shape.  Then it was chilled.  The Chef had prepared some herb crepes before we were there.  He also made a chicken force-meat (same idea as the mussels before) that was mixed with porcini mushrooms.  The chicken was spread onto the pancakes, then the lamb was rolled into the pancakes.  This was chilled, then wrapped in butter pastry (puff pastry).  The pastry was then topped with egg wash and pumpkin seeds.  This was baked until the lamb was done.  The carrot cream was made by roasting carrots with star anise until tender.  This was then pureed with cream until smooth (remove the star anise first).  The pepper gnocchi was made the same way that the gnocchi was made before (see post on cooking class in Italy) but fresh cracked pepper was added.

Finally, for dessert, we made a lemon-raspberry souffle that was made using Gordon Ramsey's recipe.  It was served with raspberry sorbet and a spice cookie with white chocolate mousse. 

All in all it was a very tasty meal.

Later that day, we headed down to the lake for a drink and a light meal.  I got risotto, but it was terrible.  The octopus salad was done very well and was a huge portion.

The next day, we headed out for a wine tasting.

All of the wines were Slovenian and excellent.  It's a shame that they don't export wines to the US.

After the wine tasting, we headed out to enjoy the perfect weather.  We had to try the Bled Cream Cake.

It's vanilla pudding with whipped cream topped with puff pastry.  It is amazing.  They make hundreds of these a day and go through them in one day.  After the cream cake, we took a little train ride around.  Not the best idea after eating and drinking, but still fun.

*To make bread crumbs, remove the crusts from slightly stale bread and cube.  Toss in the food processor and add actual bread crumbs (a handful) until you have breadcrumbs.  Add a spoonful of basil pesto and combine.