Trieste Style Štruklji is a traditional Slovenian recipe for a classic dessert of a plain oil-based dough with a walnut, raisin, dark rum pine nut, sugar, chocolate, egg and citrus zest 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: Trieste Style Štruklji.
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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.
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:
400g plain flour
100ml olive oil
250ml lukewarm water (the exact amount will depend on the dryness of the flour used, but between 200 and 300ml)
pinch of salt
For the Filling:
500g ground walnuts
120g raisins
50ml dark rum
30g pine nuts
1 tbsp candied orange peel
finely-grated zest of 1/2 lemon
finely-grated zest of 1/2 orange
150g sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
10g vanilla sugar or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
30g dark chocolate, chopped
2 eggs (to spread over the rolled out dough)
For the Topping:
100g butter
60g breadcrumbs
ground cinnamon, to taste
Method:
Using a small bowl, soak the raisins in rum over-night.
To prepare the dough: Mix together the water, olive oil, and salt in a cup.
Sift the flour in a mixing bowl and form a well in the centre. Drizzle in the olive oil and water mixture, mixing into the flour with your fingers until the ingredients come together as a dough.
Knead the resultant dough by hand or using a mixer until the it's soft and elastic (about 10 minutes). It should not stick to your hands. Cover with clingfilm and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes (if desired, it can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator over-night).
For the Filling: Mix the walnuts, pine nuts, candied orange peel, lemon and orange zests, chocolate, and raisins together in a bowl.
Mix sugar with the cinnamon, and vanilla sugar. Add the sugar mixture to the nut mixture, stirring until thoroughly combined.
Divide the dough into four equal pieces on a tablecloth. Roll out and then stretch each piece into a 30x50 cm rectangle.
Trim the ends where the dough is thicker on all sides. Beat the 2 eggs in a bowl then using a pastry brush spread all over the dough (keep any left-over for later).
Spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough leaving a 5cm space around the edges. When all the filling has been added, brush the uncovered edges with more beaten egg to help the seal then brush any remainder over the filling.
Roll the dough up as tightly as you can from the long edge. Seal the ends.
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, a little ground cinnamon 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.
