Rolled dough over the filling

There’s great affection for štrukli in northern Croatia, and rivalries between whose mother, aunt or grandmother makes the best version. So important is štrukli to the cultural identity and culinary traditions of northern Croatia, that in 2007 zagorski štrukli was added to the country’s list of intangible cultural heritage.

Todays štrukli evolved in unexpected way. In addition to traditional štrukli with cottage cheese, more innovative contemporary variations might add roasted peppers, pesto, spinach or other savory ingredients like paprika, onions and garlic. Sweet versions of štrukli, which include some sugar in the dough, are typically baked, with fillings of honey, walnuts, blueberries, apples or other fruit. Others dessert versions use a sweetened cheese. In Zagreb and across the hilly Hrvatsko Zagorje region, štrukli shows up frequently on restaurant menus; there are even restaurants that specialize in just štrukli. The most popular is La Štruk in the old center of Zagreb. Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb is renowned for its unique preparation of this traditional dish, served at the hotel since 1951.