Štruklji

Slovenian Štruklji with Cottage Cheese and Walnut Filling

A classic Slovenian rolled pastry featuring a paper-thin dough wrapped around a cottage cheese and walnut filling, gently simmered and finished with browned butter. This version is traditionally boiled then pan-seared for a lightly crisp edge.

Prep

30 min

Cook

25 min

Total

55 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •250 g (8½ oz (about 2 cups)) plain flour, all-purpose
• •1 whole (1 large) egg
• •60 ml (¼ cup) warm water
• •1 ml (¼ tsp) salt
• •1 ml (1 tsp) neutral oil or melted butter, for a more elastic dough
• •300 g (10½ oz (about 1½ cups)) cottage cheese, fresh Slovenian style (skuta) if available; well-drained curd works in a home kitchen
• •1 whole (1 large) egg yolk
• •40 g (⅓ cup) walnuts, finely ground
• •15 g (2 tbsp) soft butter, for the filling
• •2 g (½ tsp) salt
• •1 g (¼ tsp) freshly grated nutmeg, optional, traditional
• •60 g (4 tbsp) butter, for browning and serving
• •20 g (¼ cup) breadcrumbs, optional, for serving
• •15 g (2 tbsp) chopped walnuts, for garnish

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: In a bowl, combine flour, egg, warm water, salt and oil. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest 20 minutes (traditional Slovenian recipes often rest 30–60 minutes).
2. 2 Make the filling: Mash cottage cheese well. Mix with egg yolk, ground walnuts, soft butter, salt and nutmeg until a thick spreadable paste forms. If it is wet, stir in 1–2 teaspoons of breadcrumbs.
3. 3 Roll the dough very thinly on a floured cloth or sheet of baking paper, about 2–3 mm thick, into a rectangle roughly 40 × 50 cm.
4. 4 Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1 cm border on the far long edge.
5. 5 Using the cloth or paper to help, roll the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam and ends closed.
6. 6 Bring a wide pot of lightly salted water to a gentle simmer (do not boil vigorously, or the štruklji may burst). Lower the rolled log in seam-side down. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, turning once halfway, until the dough is set and no raw flour shows at the ends.
7. 7 Lift out carefully with a slotted spatula and rest 5 minutes. Slice into 2–3 cm thick rounds.
8. 8 Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 3 minutes (watch closely once it foams; butter burns fast between 150–180°C / 300–355°F).
9. 9 Fry the sliced štruklji in the browned butter for 1–2 minutes per side just to take on a little colour.
10. 10 Serve hot, drizzled with more browned butter and sprinkled with breadcrumbs and chopped walnuts, as is traditional.