In 1992, in the wake of Slovenia’s declaration of independence, the Neue Slowenische Kunst (“New Slovenian Art”) formed the NSK State – “a state in time, a state without physical territory or national borders, a state of mind.” This micronation, not recognized by the international community, issues passports (which enable several hundred people to flee during the Siege of Sarajevo), maintains temporary embassies abroad, issues its own currency by superimposing images onto other countries’ out-of-circulation bills, and, for the duration of artistic performances, declares certain places to be NSK State territories.

But what is a state without a culinary heritage? “The NSK State is a collective cultural work, formed not only by the iconography and declarations of its founders, but also by its citizens’ responses to them,” reads the founding manifesto. Today, as a good citizen, I’m offering it a national dish by delving into the imagery of the Laibach and IRWIN groups: Malevich’s Cross, blood, the deer, the sower (a theme that inspired Slovene painters in the early 20th century), the taste for misappropriation (for example the scandal of the Youth Day poster)… Everything is brought together in this recipe, where the staging and photography take on as much importance as the dish itself. IRWIN was disguising Nazi propaganda; I’m hijacking Kuharica Sestre Vendeline (“Sister Vendelina’s Cookery Book”), a work known to every Slovenian housewife, coming from the tradition of Catholic convent schools teaching girls proper household management.

Slovenian Food - Kuharica Sestre Vendeline

Not that the actual recipe is neglected! A well-executed Beef – or in this case, Venison – Wellington is a culinary feat, as it’s impossible to cook a large piece of meat in puff pastry without the puff getting crushed and soggy. My solution: free the pastry from the weight of gravity by cooking it in a large deep fryer, and replace the traditional laminated dough with something more suited to this cooking method (for the record, I also tried cronut dough, but the result was too greasy and difficult to handle). Accompanied by a superb plate of fall vegetables, this is a decadent dish that would look right at home in Predjama or Ljubljana Castle!

Venison Wellington, NSK Style

Yields 5 servings
Total preparation: 13 hours
Active preparation: 2 hours 30 minutes

Venison fabrication

about 600 g venison striploin, in one piece, without any silverskin
3 g transglutaminase
10 g water

The dimensions of the venison cut you procure may vary, but you must shape it into a log of about 7 cm diameter – it becomes very hard to handle the Wellington if it’s any larger. If your striploin is about 30 cm long and somewhat flat (like mine was), cut it in half crosswise, and trim each piece to a width of 7 cm. Mix the transglutaminase with the water and brush it on one side of each piece of meat (you probably won’t use it all). Assemble the two pieces together, and wrap tightly in several layers of plastic film.
Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Ruby port beets

about 600 g peeled red beets, preferably large
40 g ruby port wine
4 g salt

Cut the beets into slices 2 cm each, then trim each slice into a neat rectangle as large as possible; do not discard the leftover trimmings. Place the slices with the port and salt in a sous-vide pouch, place the beet trimmings in another, and vacuum-seal. Cook in a 85 C / 185 F water bath for 3 hours.
Take the beet slices out of the pouch, and cut into 20 cubes of 2 cm. Transfer the cooking liquid to a small saucepan, and reduce by half over medium-high heat. Reserve the beet cubes with the reduced port in a bowl.
Reserve the trimmings in their pouch. You won’t use all of them for this recipe.
The beets can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple days.

Sunchoke purée

400 g peeled sunchokes, medium dice
100 g heavy cream
100 g veal stock
2 g salt

Place the sunchokes, heavy cream, half of the veal stock, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over low heat until the sunchokes are tender, for 20-30 minutes.
Transfer to a blender, and process until the mixture is smooth. Add more of the remaining veal stock as needed in order to achieve the texture of a thin purée.
Transfer to a bowl, let cool, and reserve. The purée can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple days.

Wellington dough

150 g milk, lukewarm
4 g active dry yeast
8 g sugar
250 g bread flour
3.5 g salt
60 g butter, melted

Mix the milk with the yeast and sugar, and let rest at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Combine the flour and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast mixture with half of the salted flour on medium speed. Add the melted butter and the remaining salted flour, and continue mixing for 3 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, up to a maximum of one day.

Blood sauce

50 g peeled onion, small dice
100 g white mushrooms, sliced
30 g butter
0.5 g ground star anise
200 g red wine
250 g veal stock
80 g cooked red beet trimmings, small dice
40 g pig’s blood
salt
black pepper, ground

In a small saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion and mushrooms in half of the butter until soft. Stir in the star anise and cook for another minute.
Add the wine, and reduce by about half.
Add the stock and red beet, and reduce again by half.
Strain the sauce and make sure you have about 160 g (otherwise, keep reducing it).
Return the sauce to a clean saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the blood, and cook until thickened. Whisk in the rest of the butter, season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl, cover, and reserve. The sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a day.

Sous-vide venison

fabricated venison striploin

Place the venison (still wrapped in plastic) into a sous-vide pouch and vacuum-seal. Cook in a 55 C / 131 F water bath for 3 hours.
You can either keep the venison warm for up to an hour while you continue working towards final assembly, or let it cool and refrigerate it for up to a day.

Blood pudding

100 g peeled onion, small dice
40 g butter
100 g buckwheat
160 g veal stock
3.3 g salt
0.5 g ground black pepper
0.2 g ground nutmeg
0.2 g ground allspice
0.2 g ground clove
160 g fresh pig’s blood

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion in half of the butter until soft. Stir in the buckwheat, then add the stock, and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, until the stock is fully absorbed.
Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, allspice, clove, and pig’s blood. Cook over medium heat, stirring very frequently, until the blood curdles, 5-10 minutes. There should be no liquid left.
Mix in the remaining butter, transfer to a bowl, and reserve. The blood pudding can be used immediately for the assembly, or refrigerated for up to a day.

Roasted vegetables

400 g peeled parsnips, cut into pieces 8-10 cm long and 1-3 cm wide (cut lengthwise if needed)
60 g olive oil
30 g orange wine vinegar
8 g salt
0.5 g black pepper, ground
400 g Brussels sprouts, halved
300 g whole porcini, washed

Cook the parsnips in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and reserve.
Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper together in a bowl to make a vinaigrette..
Toss the parsnips and Brussels sprouts in ⅔ of the vinaigrette, and transfer to an oven dish. Roast in a 220 C / 425 F oven for 25 minutes.
Toss the whole porcini in the remaining vinaigrette, then add to the baking dish, mixing them with the other vegetables, and roast for another 20 minutes. Keep warm.