Touristorganic farm Pri Baronu

Around 20 kilometres from Maribor, where the steep slopes of the eastern Pohorje hills morph into gentle plains, the organic tourist farm “Pri Baronu”, famous far and wide for its excellent cuisine, has been standing for more than 200 years. The farmhouse is called “Pri Baronu”, which means “At the Baron’s” in memory of a former owner, who was an actual baron. But even though the present owners do not have a noble title, they are writing a noble story.

There's no other way than organic.

Thirty years ago, they opened their farm to visitors and started serving delicious home-cooked meals. A couple of years later, they decided to focus on environmentally friendly farming, and have been proud bearers of the EU-organic logo ever since. In 2020, they received the Green Key certificate, and then the Slovenia Green Cuisine label.

The Uranjek family likes to serve their organic products in delightfully interesting combinations. If any of the ingredients are not homemade, they are sourced locally. They use many different autochthonous, cultivated, and wild plants to create a unique menu in every season. They make their own traditional Pohorje “bunka”, a high-quality cured pork product, their own salamis, cured farm sausages, traditional “tünka”, patés, minced lard, and other products.

Their menu is always filled with different seasonal dishes, offering vegetarian, vegan, raw, and dietary options, and everything is prepared using traditional methods. They also prepare hearty soups and stews for larger groups, the most famous of which is their traditional Pohorje Pot. Guests with a sweet tooth will love all the different desserts they make. There is the traditional layered cake, “gibanica”, with cottage cheese or walnuts, cooked autochthonous winter pears called “tepka”, apple fritters, carrot cake, rhubarb pie, and of course there is “potica”. Their favourites are the traditional walnut “potica” and tarragon “potica”.

To quench your thirst, you can choose between homemade organic juices, brandies and liqueurs, and homemade fruit wines. You can try their slightly sour, low-alcohol apple wine called “tukla” or “tolke”, which is said to have healing properties all year round, and when in season, you can also taste the sweeter redcurrant and sour cherry wines.

In the mood for something prehistoric?

The Uranjek family was also the first to spice up their menu with historical dishes based on the local archaeological heritage. You can have a taste of prehistoric times with the spelt and lentil stew, cooked pears with honey and currant sauce, and the Neolithic roasted grain coffee with acorns.

The Antiquity inspired their turnip and celery salad with vinegar, pate with young cheese baked on laurel leaves and a sage bun, Lucania sausage, roasted carrots with thyme, honey, and pear chutney.

The welcome drink, an elixir for long life, is medieval, as well as the wild salad and hard-boiled eggs, “kamut” bun with black flax seeds, and cottage cheese spread with stinting nettles. Other dishes from this era are the marinated beef cooked in wine with dried elderberries, semolina dumpling with grated cheese, vegetable pie and roasted beetroot. If you want something sweet, there are apple fritters with walnuts and “jurka” grape sauce, or spelt pockets filled with walnuts and cottage cheese and served with a berry sauce. The feast is accompanied by linden tea.