Croatian Cheese Strukli

To celebrate my approaching honeymoon in Croatia, I decided to try my hand at an authentic Croatian dish.

During my honeymoon, I’ll primarily be on the coast, traveling from Split, to Hvar, then Dubrovnik. My stomach is excited to try all sorts of new food. To get ready, I figured why not try my hand at cooking something Croatian?

I settled on Croation cheese strukli – a savory, cheesy pastry. If all the food is as good as this turned out to be, I’m going to have a hard time coming back.

Since I know nothing about Croatian cuisine and cooking, I used this recipe from the NYT as a starting point, then took some creative liberties.

Time You’ll Need

• Prep: ~30 minutes
• Cooking: 50 minutes

What You’ll Need

• 3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 24 oz tub of cottage cheese
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar
• ½ tbsp dried Italian seasoning blend
• ½ tsp paprika
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 tbsp butter, room temperature

What You’ll Do

• Preheat the oven to 400.
• Start by making the dough. Combine the cup of warm water, room-temp butter, 1 egg, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, and flour.
• Using a stand mixer, or by hand, mix the dough to form a smooth dough ball. Cover in plastic and let is sit for about 30 minutes.
• In another mixing bowl, add 4 remaining eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic, and mix evenly.
• Grease a glass baking dish.
• Once the dough has had enough time to rest, remove from plastic and place on floured surface. Divide the dough into 3 separate parts. Roll out each piece, starting one at a time. Roll out the first sheet so that it’s long enough to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Place the first sheet in the baking dish.
• Then add a small layer of the cheese mixture.
• Next, repeat the process for the second and third sheet.
• Roll the second piece of dough out and place it over the top of the cheese layer, then spread with more cheese mixture, repeat for the final sheet (kind of lake layering lasagna).
• When all the dough is used, pour the remaining cheese mixture over the top.
• Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes, until golden brown.
• While it’s probably not as authentic, serve with hot sauce cause it’s delicious.