Recipes of Andrej Kuhar

1 Boiled veal cheeks:

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.
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.

2 Risotto purée:

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.
Lightly sauté the shallot over oil. Add the almonds and cooked rice. Slowly cook and gradually add the almond milk.
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.

1 Herb crust:

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. 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.

2 Celery root purée:

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.

3 Bread dumplings (slice):

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. 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.

4 Fried porcini:

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

5 Venison sauce:

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.

1 Pork tenderloin with prune stuffing:

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

2 Glazed parsley root:

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

3 Light tarragon sauce:

Lightly sauté the shallot over butter, add white wine, parsley root juice, and crème fraîche.
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.
Keep the sauce warm until serving.

1 Duck sous vide:

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.

2 Sauce:

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.

3 Glazed chestnuts:

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.

4 Kale purée:

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.

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.

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.

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.

1 Pike soufflé:

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.
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.

2 Tarragon sauce:

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.

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.

1 Cauliflower soup:

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.
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.

2 Olive Crostini:

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.
Drizzle with olive oil and briefly grill, either on a grill or in a preheated oven.