An old Croatian folk song says: “My mother baked štrukli, but she did not tell me about it”. But not to worry, we will tell you about štrukli (Authentic cheese strudel from Zagorje region), how to prepare them and how to bake them. And we will also let you know on a little secret how you can make the sweet version of it, with bread crumbs and sugar. In any case – it is an evergreen.
For filo pastry:
400 g (14 oz) all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
200 ml (6.7 fl oz) water
40 ml (1.40 fl oz) oil
For filling:
750 g (1.65 lb) fresh farmer cheese
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
For gratin:
400 ml (13.6 fl oz) whipping cream
Preparation
Sieve the flour, add salt, oil and water. Mix the ingredients for 15 minutes with an electric mixer until you get a mid-hard pastry. Form dough into ball, coat them with oil on both sides, cover with plastic foil and let stand for about 2 hours.
For the filling mix all the ingredients with a spatula.
Cover the tablecloth with cake flour, put the pastry in the middle and roll it with the roller until it is thin. If needed, add some extra flour onto the tablecloth during rolling. Coat it with 3 tablespoons oil and let it stand for 10 minutes.
Use your hands to further thin the pastry (pull the pastry towards the edges of the table using the palms of your hands) until you get a thin, see-through filo pastry. Remove the thickened edges with a scissors or knife.
Distribute filling onto the pastry with a spoon, and then smear evenly with a knife or spatula. Using tablecloth form a thin strudel, which you should stretch additionally so its thickness is even. Cut štrukli with an edge of a plate.
Place štrukli in a well-greased pan. Cover with whipping cream and bake in the oven previously heated to 180°C (356°F) for 45-50 minutes.
Serving
Serve štrukli as a warm appetizer.
Advice
You can serve warm štrukli immediately as a salty appetizer, or you can top them with baked breadcrumbs and sugar and get a dessert.
Note
This amount of ingredients will give you about 12 pieces of štrukli.
Štrukli can be frozen. Arrange them on a floured tray and place in the freezer for a few hours. Then store them in bags.
Preparation time
170 minutes + pastry resting
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