History

Struklji appear in 16th-century Slovenian cookbooks and remain the most versatile dish of the national kitchen. Boiled or steamed in a cloth, sliced and served warm with melted butter and breadcrumbs. Slovenian gostilne run both sweet (cottage cheese with raisins) and savoury (mushroom, buckwheat) variants. Druga Violina runs a daily rotating struklji menu.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield Serves 6Hands-on 40 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 400g 00 flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 200ml warm water
  • Pinch of salt
  • 500g cottage cheese (skuta)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 50g sugar
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 50g butter
  • 60g fresh breadcrumbs

Method

  1. Combine flour, egg, oil, salt and water. Knead 10 minutes to a smooth dough. Rest 30 minutes.
  2. Mix cottage cheese, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and salt for the filling.
  3. Roll the dough out very thin on a floured cloth, around 40 by 60cm.
  4. Spread filling evenly, leaving 2cm clear at the edges.
  5. Roll up tightly using the cloth. Wrap in a damp cloth, tie ends like a sweet.
  6. Lower the bundle into a wide pan of simmering salted water. Poach 25 minutes.
  7. Lift out, unwrap, slice. Toss with melted butter and toasted breadcrumbs.

Tip from the editors. Slovenian skuta cottage cheese is wetter than ricotta. If using ricotta, drain it through cheesecloth for an hour first.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat struklji

Struklji in Ljubljana

Druga Violina ★ 4.2

stari-gradUntil Tue-Sun until 24:00

Druga Violina keeps the kitchen running till midnight Tuesday through Sunday, with Slovenian classics from kranjska klobasa to ricet available late.

Try: Slovenian classics

Stari trg 21, 1000 Ljubljana

Vodnikov Hram ★ 4.2

Slovenian traditional, grilled meats€€€€35-60vodnikov-trg

Vodnikov Hram in vaulted stone cellars on the market square plates Slovenian classics through the seasons: jota, kranjska klobasa and prekmurska gibanica.

Vodnikov trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana Book →

More cities are in research. Want struklji covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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