Buckwheat Štruklji with Walnut Filling is a traditional Slovenian recipe for a classic dessert of a buckwheat flour boiling water dough with a walnut, sour cream, egg white, breadcrumb, spice and rum filling that's rolled, bound in cloth, boiled to cook and served with butter-fried breadcrumbs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Slovenian version of: Buckwheat Štruklji with Walnut Filling.
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Štrukljis are rolled boiled dumplings that have a filling (in this case raisins, walnuts and chocolate) spread over the dough before rolling, wrapping in cloth and boiling to cook. They're a national institution in Slovenian and are considered amongst Slovenia's national dishes. This is a traditional form of Štruklji prepared with a buckwheat rather than wheat flour dough.
Štruklji is one of the most typical Slovenian dishes, prepared in every geographical region of Slovenia. And of course, each region has a different recipe! The dough used for štruklji can be either leavened or phyllo dough. The filling is either sweet or savory; in traditional recipes štruklji are filled with farmer’s cheese, walnuts, tarragon, apples, among others; in modern recipes there are basically no limits. They are either baked or cooked, served as an independent course or as a side dish.
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
250g buckwheat flour (the exact amount will depend on the buckwheat flour you use)
90g plain (all-purpose) flour
250ml lightly-salted boiling water
For the Walnut Filling:
100g butter at room temperature
280g ground walnuts
2 tbsp sour cream
4 egg whites
40g breadcrumbs
1 tbsp dark rum
2 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Bread crumbs with butter:
100g butter
60g breadcrumbs
Tinned fruit and sugar for serving
Method:
For the Dough: Bring 250ml of water to a boil. Add half a teaspoon of salt and stir. Pour the boiling water over the buckwheat flour in a heat-proof bowl and wait for it to cool.
Add the white flour and knead for a few minutes by hand or using a mixer. If the dough is sticky, add a little flour at a time and knead until incorporated. The exact amount of flour needed will depend on the kind of buckwheat flour and the dryness of the wheat flour that you use. The dough should not be too hard, but should not stick to your hands. If it is hard, add a little bit of water. The dough should be such that you can roll it out thinly with a rolling pin over a floured surface.
For the Filling: Beat the butter in a bowl until fluffy. Add the ground walnuts, bread crumbs, sour cream, rum, vanilla paste, ground cinnamon and continue mixing.
Separately beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly fold the whipped egg whites into the walnut mixture.
Assembling the štruklji: Divide the dough into two equal-sized pieces. Roll out each piece into a rectangle about 30x40cm in size.
Spread the walnut filling evenly over the dough, but leaving a 3cm clear edge all the way around. Now roll up the dough from the long edge.
Transfer each štrukelji onto the centre of a cloth napkin dusted with flour. Wrap the štrukeljl in the cloth and seal the ends with twine or an elastic band.
Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Carefully lower in the štrukelji, return to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes.
At this point fish out the štrukelji and set aside to rest for 10 minutes before unwrapping.
To finish, melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs and fry whilst stirring constantly until golden brown.
Unwrap the štrukelji and cut into slices about 3cm wide. Arrange the slices on a warmed serving plate then scatter over the buttered breadcrumbs and, if desired, sprinkle over a little sugar and serve.
Any leftovers can be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. To re-heat cover the štruklji with a wet paper towel and microwave for a few minutes.
