Štruklji is one of the most characteristic Slovenian dishes. It’s eaten in every region of Slovenia for both everyday and at festive occasions. The first time I tried this dessert was during my trip to Slovenia.
Štruklji are cooked, steamed, baked or fried rolls of wheat, buckwheat, potato or pasta dough with filling. They can be served as a sweet or savory dish, but are more often served as a sweet dish. There are different variants with separate fillings of this dessert. Namely, tarragon štruklji, which is usually prepared in the spring, štruklji with cottage cheese in the summer, with apple in the autumn and with walnut in the winter.
During my trip in Slovenia I had this delicious sweet dish in a small cafe on the hill in Ljubljana on the advice of a Slovenian friend. She told me that štruklji is a very popular dessert among hikers in the Slovenian mountains. The mountain huts then compete with each other to make the best štruklji. However, the best are served in a mountain hut in Planina Razor.
For beautiful photos of Slovenian nature and mountains, you can take a look at her instagram.
Štruklji Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 250 grams of flour
- 1 egg
- 1 dl warm water
- some oil, salt, vinegar or lime juice
For the filling and topping:
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- 250 grams cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 handful of breadcrumbs
Instructions
For the dough: put the flour in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour and add all the ingredients. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Then let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
For the filling: mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, sugar and breadcrumbs in a bowl. If you want more flavor in the filling, you can add raisins (the raisins taste even better if you first soak them in rum for 30 minutes).
After 30 minutes, roll out the dough on a floured work surface in a rectangle of 30 cm by 45 cm. Spread the filling on the dough and, starting on the long side, roll it into a tight roll.
Then place the roll on a clean white cloth large enough to cover the roll. Wrap the roll in the cloth and then tie the ends with a string. Roll the roll in a circle and drop it into a large saucepan of boiling salted water. Simmer for 25-30 minutes and gently lift it out of the pot. Unpack the roll and keep it warm.
For the topping: fry the breadcrumbs in butter until golden brown. Cut the Štruklji into 2 cm thick pieces and sprinkle with the buttered crumbs.
