Štrukli is the oldest known dish of the northern region of Croatia, the Krapina-Zagorje County. This stuffed dough can be prepared and served in different ways without losing its uniqueness. It can be served as a soup, appetizer, dessert, main course or snack - whichever you prefer. Although štrukli are best known made with cheese, they can also be made with young pumpkins or squash, poppy seeds and turnips. Depending on the filling, štrukli then got different names like ‘cheeses’, ‘poppies’ etc. The Štruklijada event is held every year in Zagorje County, where a lot of štrukli is cooked each time, it strives to preserve the autochthonous gastronomy of the area and proves how popular štrukli are among locals and visitors.
Izvor: HeritageCroatia
We provide here two different recipes for štrukli from the book Croatian way of preparing food, by Ivanka Luetić. The first one is for cooked and the second one for baked štrukli. We suggest trying both of them!
ZAGORSKI ŠTRUKLI
For the dough
500 grams of smooth flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 egg
a bit of salt
lukewarm water as needed
2 tablespoons melted butter
For the filling
500 grams of cottage cheese
3 eggs
a bit of salt
For sprinkling
melted butter and breadcrumbs
Izvor: HeritageCroatia
PROCEDURE: Knead the dough as for a strudel, of flour, oil, eggs, salt and lukewarm water. Leave the dough to rest covered for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling by mixing the cheese, eggs and a pinch of salt. Roll out the dough twice as thick as for a strudel, sprinkle it with a little melted butter and put the filling on it. Carefully fold into a roll and cut into pieces with the edge of a porcelain plate. Cook the dumplings in salted water for about 15 minutes. Drain them and sprinkle with crumbs fried in butter.
YEAST-LEAVENED ŠTRUKLI
For the dough
500 grams of flour
1 egg
a little bit of sugar
milk as needed (about 300 ml)
yeast
For the filling
800 grams of cottage cheese
2 eggs
salt and sugar (quantity depends on taste, and would you like savoury or sweet meal)
3 tablespoons melted and boiled butter
a little butter to coat
Photo: Ivanka Luetić
PROCEDURE: Crumble the yeast in a little lukewarm milk, add a little bit of flour and sugar. When the yeast rises, add all the other ingredients and knead a smooth dough. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. Meanwhile, make a filling of cheese, eggs, salt and sugar. Roll out the dough half a finger thick, cut into cubes, put the stuffing in each, fold and place on a greased baking pan. Coat the pieces with butter and bake for 1 hour on low heat.
Enjoy your meal!