Transatlantic potato salad

Potato salad is a big deal in Slovenia. We make it simply, and eat it proudly. The potato salad is also a big deal in the US, where it seems to be a must at almost any gathering. 

American

The American recipe involved more ingredients, and mayonnaise is used as dressing, along with possibly olive oil and vinegar.  Here is a "recipe" for an American-style potato salad that I found quite delicious:

• Potato, cubed, salted, and steamed
• Finely chopped onion, celery, carrots, sautéd in olive oil
• Finely chopped celery and parsley
• Mayonnaise
• Olive oil
• Rice vinegar

Slovenian

If one searches for Slovenian potato salad, many recipes are pretty much the same as the American version above. This was a surprise to me as what I grew up with differs in several ways. Maybe what I call a Slovenian version is really a version from Prekmurje, the flatlands of Slovenia. The cuisine in Slovenia differs quite significantly across the region, despite the country being quite tiny. 

Here is what we do: The secret is to let hot cooked and sliced potatoes soak up some rich broth. It is a neat way to generate deep flavor without adding fat. Tip: If you do not have tasty broth available, miso dissolved in some hot water works really well. For dressing we use good pumpkin seed oil and some vinegar or lemon juice. The pumpkin seed oil takes the flavor to a new dimension. I like to steam the potatoes instead of boiling them, as the potatoes retain so much more flavor. Here is the "recipe":

• Steamed potato, or boiled whole, peeled, and sliced
• Rich broth (bone, beef, chicken, vegetable, miso - it all works)
• Onion - soaked in water or sautéd
• Pumpkin seed oil
• Lemon juice or vinegar
• Salt to taste

Tarta de Santiago with a honey twist

Today a colleague at work called into a meeting from a room named Tarta de Santiago. I was curious, looked up Tarta de Santiago, and learned it was a pretty simple but tasty looking almond cake from middle ages, and that it represented Spain in Café Europe. My colleague claimed it was delicious. I baked the cake tonight. My colleague was right, the cake was delicious, it is definitely a keeper, hence recording the recipe here.

The knife-and-fork pattern is all I could come up with in a hurry, and it indicates how eager we were to dig into the cake. The cake tends to be decorated with a stencil of Cross of Saint James. I will try at the first opportunity.

I mostly followed the recipe from here, but made a few changes: I used honey instead of sugar and I reduced the amount from 200g to 150g. The cake was still plenty sweet, but the sweetness was not overpowering. I also added a tablespoon or two of Amareto to enhance the almond flavor. We liked the result.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 150g honey (the recipe I started with used 200g or 1 cup of castor sugar)
• 200g almond flour or ground almonds (2 cups)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• grated rind of one lemon (I used a Meyer lemon)
• Optional: 1-2 TBS Amaretto
• Powder sugar for dusting

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C)
2. Grease a 8 or 9 inch spring form cake pan with butter, and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Crack the eggs into a bowl, and add the honey. Whisk until foamy and some air is incorporated. I used an electric handheld mixer.
4. Add cinnamon, lemon rind, Amaretto if you are using it, and almond flour. Mix carefully with a whisk so that some bubbles remain in the mixture.
5. Pour the mix into the cake pan, and bake for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Take the cake from the pan - I inverted it on a large plate, and let it cool for 10 minutes.
7. In the mean while prepare a cross stencil, or whatever shape you will use for the decoration.
8. Put the stencil on the cake and dust liberally with powder sugar.
9. Carefully remove the stencil and the cake is ready to eat. I like it best at a room temperature.
10. The cake can be stored covered at room temperature for a day or so.