SLOVENIAN CHEESE DUMPLINGS (ŠTRUKLJI)

Delicious rolled cheese dumplings for every occasion

Štruklji is a traditional Slovene dish that evolved from a 16th-century monastic recipe (for cooked štruklji with tarragon filling) into an urban middle-class meal for special occasions. In the 20th century, štruklji became popular and spread into everyday cuisine as a typical food all across Slovenia. Štruklji is often served as an excellent stand-alone dish, as a side dish with meat and gravy or sweet breadcrumbs and butter as dessert.

Štruklji comes in the form of rolls, cooked or baked, and can have a variety of fillings, either sweet or savory. They are made out of dough and filling. The dough is usually made from wheat or buckwheat phyllo pastry, while the filling can incorporate a variety of ingredients, for example, salty beans, sweet walnuts and raisins, or chocolate. Although the most traditional and loved are cooked rolled cheese dumplings or “sirovi štruklji” in Slovenian, made with cottage cheese.

The best ones I’ve ever tasted are made at huts on Slovenian mountain pastures such as Domžalski dom on Velika planina or Planšarija Dolga njiva, as they use freshly made cottage cheese from raw milk of happy cows roaming those beautiful mountains. There are no štruklji in the world that can match them in taste and deliciousness (maybe it also has to do with the fact that one is extremely hungry after hiking the whole day in the mountains).

When making the perfect štruklji, things have to be just right. The dough has to be thin but not too thin. The filling should not be too dry or too wet, and at the same time, there should not be too little or too much of the filling. Playing with these elements to your preferences will eventually make your personal best variation of štruklji.

Ingredients:

For the phyllo dough:

• 300 g all-purpose flour 00 (plus more for rolling)

• 90 ml water

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp melted butter

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• pinch of salt

Feel free to use store-bought phyllo pastry instead.

For the filling:

• 500 g cottage cheese

• 200 g sour cream

• 3 eggs

• 1 tsp salt

For the topping:

• 50 g butter

• 60g breadcrumbs

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• pinch of salt

• homemade jam (cranberries jam works really well IMO)

Preparation:

Phyllo dough

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a clean working surface and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough feels beautifully elastic. Cover the dough for 5 minutes, then knead again and make a ball. Wrap it up tightly and place it in the fridge overnight. Place a large tablecloth on your table and sprinkle with flour. Roll out the dough thinly, then gently stretch it with your hands. Make sure that the dough doesn’t brake, so work slowly and carefully. It is best to stretch it from the center outward. Ideally, the dough should be translucent and extremely thin. Cut in sheets and sprinkle with flour. For two cheese dumplings, you will need 4 thin phyllo dough sheets. Feel free to use store-bought filo pastry instead (or if in a hurry).

Cheese dumplings (štruklji)

In a large bowl mix all the filling ingredients into a smooth creamy texture. Place a clean kitchen towel that wasn’t washed with any fabric softener (as that will leave a weird taste in the dumplings) on your clean working surface. Sprinkle the kitchen towel with flour. Place two sheets of phyllo pastry on top. Evenly spread half of the filling on top of the phyllo pastry, leaving about a 3 cm edge on top. Start from the bottom of the pastry and roll the dumpling tightly into a roll. Wrap the dumpling in the kitchen towel tightly and tie the ends together with a string. Repeat with the second dumpling and the rest of the filling. Pour enough water into a large pot, add some salt, and bring to a boil. Carefully add the wrapped dumplings into the pot and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes covered with a lid. Make sure all the dumplings are submerged in water. Discard the water and let the dumplings cool for a while. Then carefully unwrap them and cut them into desired slices.

For the topping melt butter in a pan and add breadcrumbs, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt and cook for a few minutes until golden brown. Add on top of cheese dumplings and a teaspoon of homemade jam, cranberry jam works really well!