Recipes of Andrej Kuhar

Serves 6

Ingredients

Boiled veal cheeks

• 1.5 kg veal cheeks
• 80 g sea salt
• 40 g sugar
• 50 g carrot
• 150 g shallot
• 50 g leek (white part)
• 100 g celery root
• 50 g parsley root
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 3 juniper berries
• 1 bay leaf
• zest of ½ organic orange
• zest of ½ organic lemon
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 l red wine
• 0.5 l veal stock
• 3 sprigs thyme
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• piece cinnamon stick
• 8 tablespoons olive oil

Risotto pureé

• 200 g grated almonds
• 500 ml milk
• 500 g heavy cream
• 300 g shallots, finely chopped
• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
• 20 g butter
• 200 g cooked rice
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Boiled veal cheeks

1. Rub the cheeks with a mixture of salt and sugar. Marinate for 45 minutes, then wash under cold water and leave to dry on a kitchen cloth.
2. Cut up the meat into suitable chunks. Sear over hot olive oil and remove from the pan. Drain the excess oil, add vegetables and fry briefly. Add the tomato paste, fry thoroughly, then add red wine. Add the herbs and spices, and let the liquid evaporate almost entirely. Add the veal stock and meat, cover the pan, and simmer in a preheated oven at 90 °C for 3.5 to 4 hours. Turn the meat several times during cooking. When the meat is tender, remove it from the pan and leave it in a warm place. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve. Add veal stock if necessary, thicken with starch, and season to taste.

Risotto pureé

1. Toast the almonds under a broiler until golden brown. Set aside 4 tablespoons of almonds for garnish. Bring the milk and heavy cream to a boil. Add the toasted almonds and let stand overnight. The next day, drain the almonds and reserve the liquid.
2. Lightly sauté the shallot over oil. Add the almonds and cooked rice. Slowly cook and gradually add the almond milk.
3. When the mass gets soft, let it cool down slightly. Use the Gorenje Chef's Collection blender to make a purée. Press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve, season to taste, and leave in a warm place.

To serve

Cut the cheeks into chunks, not too thin. Add risotto pureé with almonds, and top with sauce. Garnish with the remaining almond slices and green scallion slices. 

Chef's hint

Deep-fried potato nest is another excellent side for the boiled cheeks. 

 Serves 4

Ingredients

Venison loin

• 600 venison loin, boneless, veins removed
• 5 allspice berries
• 3 juniper berries
• 30 ml hazelnut oil
• salt
• 50 g butter for searing

Herb crust

• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
• 1 bunch chervil
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 teaspoons crushed Malabar pepper
• 50 ml grape seed oil

Celery root pureé

• 1 celery root (500 g)
• 195 g cream
• 40 g unsalted butter
• 15 g lemon juice
• 4 g salt

Bread dumplings (slice)

• 1 shallot
• 350 white semi-dried bread
• 600 ml milk
• 2 eggs
• salt
• pepper
• nutmeg
• parsley

Fried porcini

• 250 g porcini, cleaned and sliced jurčkov
• oil
• salt
• black peppers
• garlic
• 1 sprig parsley

Venison sauce

• 500 ml venison stock
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 10 ml olive oil
• 80 ml red wine
• 2 tablespoons cranberries
• 20 ml dark balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 allspice berries

Preparation

Herb crust:

1. Finely chop the herbs and mix with crushed Malabar pepper. Clean the venison fillet and cut into chunks 150 g each. Coat with hazelnut oil and roll in the mixture of herbs and pepper. Vacuum seal the chunks in plastic bags and cook in the Gorenje sous vide cooker for 12 to 15 minutes at 65 °C. 
2. Chill the meat in cold water, remove the bags, season with salt, and lightly sear over butter to which you have added the allspice and juniper berries.

Celery root pureé:

1. Peel and thinly slice the celery root. Add cream, butter, lemon juice, and salt. Cook in vacuum sealed bags in the Gorenje sous vide cooker for 90 minutes at 85 °C. Transfer the purée into a food processor and purée until smooth.

Bread dumplings (slice):

1. Finely chop the shallot and sauté lightly over butter. Cube the bread and pour hot milk over it. Add the shallot, stir well, and leave for half an hour.

2. Then, add the eggs and season to taste. Shape into a loaf and roll in a moist kitchen cloth. Tie up the cloth with kitchen string and cook in the Gorenje sous vide cooker for 60 minutes at 85 °C.

Fried porcini: 

1. Clean and slice the porcini. Fry in a skillet with heated oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Add fresh chopped parsley.

Venison sauce:

1. Sauté the shallot over olive oil. Add red wine, cranberries, and balsamic vinegar and simmer until all liquid evaporates. Add venison stock, herbs, and garlic, and reduce to desired consistency.

To serve

Slice the bread dumpling loaf and brown the slices over butter from both sides. Place the seared pieces of venison loin on two browned bread slices, and add the porcini. Add the reheated celery purée, top with hot venison sauce, and serve.

Chef's hint

When inserted into the core of the cooked venison loin, instant-read meat thermometer should register 56 °C.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Pork tenderloin with prune stuffing, glazed parsley root, and light tarragon sauce

• 700 g pork tenderloin
• 150 g prunes, pitted and cubed
• 5 springs of fresh rosemary, thyme, and tarragon
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, for searing the cooked tenderloin

Glazed parsley root

• 12 parsley roots, peeled
• 200 ml vegetable stock
• 5 cl Noilly Prat vermouth
• 2- 3 g salt
• zest of ¼ organic orange
• butter
• sprig of parsley, chopped

Light tarragon sauce

• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 100 ml white wine
• juice from cooking the parsley root
• 200 ml crème fraîche
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 sprig fresh tarragon
• salt and pepper
• lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons whipped cream

Preparation

Pork tenderloin with prune stuffing:

1. Trim the fat from the tenderloin. Use a carving knife to cut into the centre of the tenderloin and fill with prunes.
2. Season the meat with salt and pepper, add the herbs, and vacuum seal.
3. Cook in the Gorenje sous vide cooker for 60 minutes at 64 °C.
4. Cool the bag with the meat in cold water.
5. When cooled down, take the meat from the bag, reserving the juices.

Glazed parsley root:

1. Vacuum seal all ingredients in a plastic bag and cook in the Gorenje sous vide cooker for 65 minutes at 85 °C.  
2. Cool the bag with the vegetables in cold water.
3. When cooled down, take the root from the bag, reserving the juices.

Light tarragon sauce:

1. Lightly sauté the shallot over butter, add white wine, parsley root juice, and crème fraîche.  
2. Reduce the sauce to desired consistency. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and season with salt, white pepper, mustard, and lemon juice. Add 1/2 tablespoon of coarsely chopped tarragon and let simmer for a short time.
3. Keep the sauce warm until serving.

To serve

1. Heat sunflower oil in a skillet. Tap the tenderloin dry and sear thoroughly on all side. Slice the meat 2 cm thick and place on warm plates.  
2. Glaze the parsley root in melted butter. Add the chopped parsley, season to taste, and add to the meat slices.
3. Heat up the tarragon sauce, fold in the whipped cream, froth with the Gorenje Chef's Collection stick blender, and pour around the meat.

Chef's hint

For the perfect flavour, serve potato purée with lemon as a side dish.

 Serves

Ingredients

Sous vide duck

• 1 Barbary (Muscovy) duck, approx. 1.8 kg
• 100g brown sugar
• 100 g salt
• 4 juniper berries
• 1 star anise
• 10 coriander seeds
• 10 corns Australian mountain pepper
• 1 clove
• 1 bay leaf

Sauce

• 400 ml duck stock (poultry stock may be used as well)
• 2 onions
• 1 firm apple
• 1 tablespoon oil
• salt and pepper, freshly ground
• 200 ml red Port wine
• sugar
• 1 teaspoon starch, dissolved in cold water
• 2 sprigs fresh tarragon

Glazed chestnut

• 300g g peeled and thoroughly cleaned chestnuts
• 80 g butter
• 5 žlic sugar
• 150 ml water
• a pinch of salt

Kale pureé

• 800 g Savoy cabbage
• salt
• 1 onion
• 1 small bay leaf 
• 1 clove
• 70 g butter
• 20 g flour
• 500 ml milk, cold
• 80 g shallot
• 30 g smoked bacon
• salt
• freshly ground nutmeg
• freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Sous vide duck:

1. Cook the sugar, salt, and spices in one litre of water and let the marinade cool down. Thoroughly clean and wash the duck and soak it in the chilled marinade for 3 hours. Thoroughly dry the duck with kitchen towels. Vacuum seal it in a suitably large plastic bag. Cook in the Gorenje sous vide cooker for approximately 4 hours at 63 °C. Before serving, crisply brown the duck on both sides under the broiler.

Sauce:

1. Sauté the roughly chopped onions and apple over oil. Add Port wine and cook until all liquid evaporates. Add duck stock and reduce to one half. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and add the starch. Finally, add coarsely chopped tarragon.

Glazed chestnut:

1. Caramelize the butter and sugar in a skillet. Add the chestnuts and glaze for a few minutes. Add water, season with salt, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat.

Kale pureé:

1. Clean the Savoy cabbage and remove the outer leaves. Quarter the Savoy cabbage head, remove the stalk, and separate into leaves. Roughly chop the leaves, blanch them for 3–4 minutes in boiling salted water, and chill in ice water. Strain well and press firmly with your hands. Finely chop the Savoy cabbage in Gorenje Chef's Collection food processor. Make oignon piqué (place the bay leaf over the onion and pierce it with a clove). In a skillet, dissolve butter, add the flour, and cook until the mixture turns a light golden colour. Add cold milk and the oignon piqué, and cook slowly for 20 minutes. Strain the Béchamel sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and season with salt. Lightly sauté the finely chopped bacon and shallot over butter. Add chopped Savoy cabbage, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and cook slowly on medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes. Just before serving, add 100 ml of the Béchamel sauce.

To serve

Carve the duck and transfer the cuts to a warm board. Add the glazed chestnuts. Serve the Savoy cabbage purée and the sauce separately.

Chef's hint

Béchamel sauce will be better if made in a large batch with at least 500 ml milk. Leftover sauce can be frozen and used for another dish.

 Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500 g black salsify (black oyster plant)
• ½ l litre milk
• ½ lemon
• 2 shallots
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cube sugar
• 50 g butter
• ½ l litre chicken broth
• 1/2 l cream
• salt and white pepper, freshly ground
• 30g butter to serve, cold and cubed

To garnish

• 20 g white or black truffles
• chervil

Preparation

1. Peel the black salsify under running water. Drizzle it with lemon juice, finely cube, and soak in milk to keep the root from going black during preparation.

2. Finley chop the shallot and garlic and sauté over butter with a cube of sugar. Add the strained black salsify cubes (without milk) and sauté until soft.
3. Add the cream and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Transfer into the glass jug of the Gorenje Chef's Collection blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Season the soup with salt and pepper, and strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

To serve

Before serving, add cold butter to the soup, and blend with the Gorenje Chef's collection stick blender. Upon serving, add thinly sliced truffles and garnish with chervil.

Chef's hint

You can also add softly cooked black salsify cubes to the soup, and season to taste with nutmeg and a drop of lemon juice.

 Serves 6 or more

Ingredients

• 1 red kuri (Hokkaido) squash, approx. 800 g
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• 460 g carrots
• 2 small apples
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 950 ml chicken or vegetable broth
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon powdered cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon honey
• salt and pepper to taste

To garnish

• pumpkin oil
• 6 teaspoons Crème fraîche
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 slices French loaf

Preparation

1. Peel and finely chop the yellow onion. Sauté the onion over olive oil. Clean and finely cube the pumpkin, carrots, apples, ginger, and garlic. Add to the cooled onions and mix with spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, honey, salt, and pepper) and marinate for one hour.

2. Split the mixture into two equal parts and vacuum seal each part in a plastic bag. Cook in the Gorenje sous vide cooker at 85 °C for 2 hours until the pumpkin and apple are completely soft. Place the bags in cold water for the contents to cool down.
3. When the mixture has cooled down, transfer the contents to a large bowl, add some broth, and purée with the Gorenje Chef's Collection stick blender. Gradually add the remaining broth and stir until the soup becomes creamy.
4. Then, gradually heat up the soup while stirring continuously. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and season.

To serve

Transfer the soup to a warmed tureen and garnish with crème fraîche, pumpkin seed oil, and chopped cilantro. Brown the French loaf slices over butter and serve separately.

Chef's hint

Use vegetable broth to make the soup suitable for vegetarians.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 50 g dried porcini
• 1 shallot
• 1 fennel
• 1 leek; only use the white part
• 50 ml cognac
• 1,2 l strong chicken broth
• 250 ml heavy cream
• 4 fresh scallops
• 50 ml olive oil
• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 fresh porcini mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cm thick
• 2 tablespoons whipped cream
• 2 drops orange syrup

Preparation

1. Soak the dry porcini in 200 ml cold water for 15 minutes. Strain through a kitchen cloth and reserve the liquid for the soup.

2. Clean and finely slice the shallot and fennel. Only use the white part of the leek. Slice it 0.5 cm thick. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and add chopped vegetables. Sauté briefly and add liquid reserved from soaking the porcini.
3. Cook until all liquid evaporates. Then, add the cognac, chicken broth, cream, and soaked porcini. Cook for approximately 20 minutes at medium temperature. Transfer into the glass jug of the Gorenje Chef's Collection blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve and season to taste with salt and white pepper.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the olive oil with vanilla. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise, scoop out the middle, and soak in 50 ml olive oil. Heat up to 45 °C, then let cool down. 
5. Sear the scallop meat in a pre-heated iron pan, one minute per side. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve

Froth the soup using the Gorenje Chef's Collection stick blender. Distribute onto 4 hot places, and add fried scallops and porcini. Garnish the soup with the whipped cream with orange syrup, and drizzle with vanilla oil.

Chef's hint

Before frying, wash the scallop meat under running water, dry, and coat with olive oil.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Pike souffle

• 150 g pike (boneless fillet)
• 50 g pike perch
• salt
• tabasco
• 180 g heavy cream
• 2 cl dry sherry
• lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons whipped cream

Tarragon sauce

• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 100 ml white wine
• 200 ml fish stock (poultry stock may be used as well)
• 300 ml heavy cream
• a pinch of sugar
• salt and pepper, freshly ground
• lemon juice
• 2 spoons of chopped fresh tarragon, or 1 teaspoon of dry tarragon 

Preparation

Pike souffle

1. Grease four soufflé ramekins with butter and store in a cold place. Cut the pike and pike perch meat into strips and place in the freezer for a few minutes. Measure out the heavy cream and place it in the freezer for a few minutes as well.
2. When chilled thoroughly, add the fish into the bowl of the Gorenje Chef's Collection food processor. Season with salt, and add a part of the chilled heavy cream. During processing, gradually add the remaining chilled cream. Blend into a smooth and shiny mixture. Add a teaspoon of whipped cream, Tabasco sauce, dry sherry, and lemon juice. Season with salt to taste, and distribute among greased ramekins. Fill a deep baking tray with water to a depth of no more than 2 cm and place the ramekins in the water. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 10 to 12 minutes.

Tarragon sauce

1. Lightly sauté the chopped shallot over butter. Add white wine, bring to a boil, and add the fish stock. Cook for a while, add the cream, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Purée the sauce with the Gorenje Chef's Collection stick blender. Season with salt to taste, add a pinch of sugar, and chopped tarragon.

To serve

Transfer the pike soufflé from the ramekin and serve it over spinach leaves, with tarragon sauce.

Chef's hint

It is very important that all ingredients be processed while very cold. Pike soufflé and crayfish are a true delicacy.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken breast with mozzarella and basil stuffing

• 80 g shallot
• 10 g garlic
• 20 g butter
• 400 g mozzarella
• 120 g cottage cheese
• 120 g white bread without crust
• 40 g basil
• 4 chicken fillets, skin one, boneless (each approx. 160 g)
• salt and pepper, freshly ground
• oil for searing

Preparation

1. Finely chop the shallot and garlic and sauté lightly over butter. Let it cool down; then, add to the cottage cheese and cube mozzarella. Cube the white bread. Coarsely chop the basil. Stir, season with salt, and purée finely in Gorenje Chef's Collection food processor.
2. Spread out and slightly beat the chicken fillets. Stuff and roll up. Make sure the skin covers all of the stuffing. Place the rolls on a piece of aluminium foil greased with butter. Make sure the skin is facing upwards. Shape the foil into a cup. Coat the chicken breast with oil, heat up the oven, and roast for approximately 25 minutes at 175 °C.

Chef's hint

Remove the breast from the foil for the last 5 to 6 minutes of the cooking process for a nicely browned skin.

Serves 6

Ingredients

Cauliflower soup

• 500 g shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 shallots
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 500 ml cauliflower, cleaned and cut into smaller cubes
  chicken or vegetable stock
• 300 ml heavy cream
• 100 ml white wine (dry riesling)
• 100 g creme fraiche or sour cream
• 50 ml Noilly Prat
• 50 ml white port wine
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Some freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt, freshly ground white pepper
• 6 tablespoons of whipped cream to serve

Olive crostini

• 12 slices of day old bread or toast
• ½ clove garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons almond flakes
• 3 tablespoons chopped green olives
• 1 tablespoon dried tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 sprig thyme (fried in olive oil)

Preparation

Cauliflower soup:

1. Lightly sauté the finely chopped shallot over butter. Let it cool down. Clean the cauliflower and cut into smaller pieces. When the shallots are cooled down, add the cauliflower, thyme, stock, crème fraîche, white wine, vermouth and Port wine, and stir. Fino narezano šalotko svetlo prepražite na maslu, ohladite. Cvetačo očistite in narežite v manjše kocke. Ohlajeni šalotki dodajte cvetačo, timijan, jušno osnovo, Creme Fraiche, belo vino, vermut, porto in pomešajte.
2. Transfer to a vacuum bag, vacuum seal, and cook in the Gorenje sous vide cooker at 75 °C for approximately 65 minutes. Remove the thyme sprig and use the Gorenje Chef's collection stick blender to blend to a smooth consistency. Season with salt, white pepper, freshly ground nutmeg, and lemon juice.

Olive crostini:

1. Toast the white bread slices over a grill or in a skillet without using any fat. Finely chop the garlic, green olives, dried tomatoes, and almond flakes, mix, and distribute over bread slices. Rezine belega kruha popecite na žaru ali v ponvici brez maščobe. Na drobno nasekljan česen, zelene olive, suh paradižnik in mandljeve kosmiče pomešajte ter razdelite po popečenih kruhovih rezinah.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and briefly grill, either on a grill or in a preheated oven.

To serve

Heat up the soup and place it into warm soup plates. Add the whipped cream (1 tablespoon per plate) and top it off with the olive crostini cut into smaller cubes. Decorate with the fried thyme sprig and a drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately.

Chef's hint

For crostini, use stale, partly dried bread or toast.