{"id":31774,"date":"2020-03-17T07:46:20","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T07:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/the-slovenia.com\/?p=31774"},"modified":"2020-07-15T12:16:36","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T10:16:36","slug":"interview-denise-rejec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-slovenia.com\/en\/gastronomy\/interview-denise-rejec\/","title":{"rendered":"TOP Slovenia Interview: Denise Rejec from Wine Dine Slovenia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denise Rejec is an expat from the beautiful island of Malta who calls Slovenia her second home. Denise Rejec is the author of the blog Wine Dine Slovenia – An Expat’s affair with Slovenia’s food and drink. <\/strong> <\/h2>

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Denise Rejec, who says that writing was always one of her passions. With her blog Wine Dine Slovenia, he presents her own experiences with Slovenian cuisine as a Maltese native. She aims to present a variety of articles that will convey as much about the country\u2019s gastronomy and wine offerings as possible. <\/p>

Read the interview with Denise Rejec below and find out what she had to say about Slovenian cuisine.<\/strong><\/p>

THE: What are some of the differences between Slovenian and Maltese traditional cuisine?<\/strong><\/p>

If I had to choose which cuisine to go for after a tough workout or uphill climb, it would definitely be Slovene. Traditional Slovenian cuisine is the richer and heartier one, with lots of meat and potato-based dishes, while Maltese cuisine is a lighter Mediterranean one. There is one common factor: the influence of other countries. In Slovenia, you\u2019ve got cuisine inspired by Italy to the west, Austria in the north, Hungary in the east, and Croatia to the south. While Maltese cuisine is an eclectic mix of Sicilian, Italian, French, English, and North African elements. <\/p>

Our traditional dishes are rabbit, \u2018lampuki\u2019 (dorado) pie, \u2018timpana\u2019 which is a dish of baked macaroni with a top layer of pastry, and \u2018\u0127ob\u017c bi\u017c-\u017cejt\u2019 (literally translated as \u2018bread with oil\u2019)\u2014a great snack of Maltese bread garnished with olive oil, tuna, capers, onions, tomatoes, olives, sea salt, pepper, and\/or any other ingredients of choice. We\u2019re also known for another delicious snack, the \u2018pastizzi\u2019\u2014puff-pastry pockets filled with either mushy peas or ricotta cheese. Sinful, but sooo good!<\/p>

THE: Which spice, flavorS, or herbS defines Maltese cuisine?<\/strong><\/p>

We use quite a bit of Mediterranean herbs to add flavour to our dishes, namely thyme (which does a good job of bumping up our traditional rabbit dish), rosemary (which I love to use on fish), and oregano. When in Malta, I just love heading out into the countryside and collecting wild thyme and asparagus for my cooking. Regarding flavour, I would say the overall taste of Maltese cuisine is rather Italian<\/p>

THE: Describe your first experience with Slovenian food. Which food was it, how did it make you feel?<\/strong><\/p>

The moment I set eyes on my first Slovenian dish, I knew I was in for something new. My first Slovenian food experience was at my mother-in-law\u2019s where I dove into a nice portion of bloody sausage (\u2018krvavica\u2019) and sour turnip (\u2018kisla repa\u2019) with \u2018ocvrki\u2019 (pork crackling). If we had to eat this kind of food in Malta, where our lifestyles are more sedentary, we\u2019d be twice the size.<\/p>

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