Štruklji

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gplain flour
• 200 mlwarm water
• 1egg
• 3 tbspoil
• 1 tspsalt

Tarragon filling

• 600 gfresh curd cheese, skuta
• 2eggs
• 150 mlsour cream
• a large bunch of fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• salt

Walnut filling

• 300 gwalnuts, ground
• 150 gsugar
• 200 mlhot milk
• 1 tspcinnamon
• 50 gbutter

To cook

• a clean cloth and string, for boiling
• or butter and cream, for baking

To finish

• browned butter with breadcrumbs
• or sugar, for sweet versions

To serve

• as a side, a main or a dessert

Directions

1. Make the dough first. Mix the flour, salt, water, egg and oil into a soft dough. Knead it for 10 minutes until smooth and very elastic.
2. Knead it well, because it has to be stretched thin and only a strong dough will take that. Oil the ball, cover it with a warm bowl, and rest it 30 minutes. Use far more tarragon than seems reasonable, since it is the defining flavour and a token amount is pointless.
3. Use fresh tarragon rather than dried, which tastes of nothing much. For the walnut version, pour hot milk over the ground walnuts with the sugar, cinnamon and butter, and let it swell into a thick paste.
4. Let the walnut mixture cool and thicken before spreading, since a hot filling tears the dough. Roll the dough out, then stretch it by hand with the backs of your hands, working outward from the centre. Use the backs of your hands rather than fingertips, which puncture it, and move round the table as you go. Stretch it until it is translucent and you can see the cloth through it.
5. Trim the thick outer edges off. Brush the sheet with melted butter and spread the filling over most of it, leaving a border. Using the cloth to roll is far easier than handling paper-thin dough with your hands. Wrap it firmly but leave a little slack, because the roll swells as it cooks and a tight wrap splits it.
6. Simmer the wrapped roll in salted water for 40 to 45 minutes. Keep it at a gentle simmer, turning it once, and never let it boil hard. Lift it out, let it rest 10 minutes, then unwrap and slice it into thick rounds.
7. Rest it before unwrapping, or it collapses as it comes out of the cloth. For the baked version, cut the roll into sections, arrange them in a buttered dish, pour over cream and bake at 200°C for 30 minutes.
8. Fry breadcrumbs in butter until golden and pour them over the sliced štruklji. Browned butter and crisp breadcrumbs over soft dumplings is the standard Slovenian finish and it is not a garnish, it is part of the dish. Serve them hot, in thick slices.

Technique

• Something like a hundred documented fillings exist and the count is regularly cited.
• Tarragon with curd cheese is the most characteristically Slovenian.
• They can be a side dish, a main or a dessert.

Substitutions

• Ready-made strudel pastry, which is a common shortcut.
• Ricotta drained overnight in place of skuta.

Variations

• Ajdovi štruklji, made with buckwheat dough.
• With poppy seed filling.
• Baked in cream rather than boiled.

History

Rolled dumplings with dozens of fillings, from tarragon to cottage cheese, boiled or baked and served as a side or a dessert.

Frequently asked questions

What is Štruklji?

Štruklji is a main from Slovenia: rolled dough dumplings with cottage cheese, walnut or tarragon. Rolled dumplings with dozens of fillings, from tarragon to cottage cheese, boiled or baked and served as a side or a dessert.

How long does Štruklji take to make?

Štruklji takes 1 hr plus 30 min resting of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Štruklji?

Yes, within limits. Ready-made strudel pastry, which is a common shortcut. Ricotta drained overnight in place of skuta.

What is the most important thing to get right in Štruklji?

Use fresh tarragon rather than dried, which tastes of nothing much. For the walnut version, pour hot milk over the ground walnuts with the sugar, cinnamon and butter, and let it swell into a thick paste.