ZAGORJE ŠTRUKLI…

One of the dishes that no one and for no logical reason should miss out during their stay in Croatia are definitely Zagorje štrukli. Croatian cuisine due to its combination of climates, mediterranean and the inland can be proud of a very diverse cuisine rich with indigenous dishes. However, only one can be done only in this region. These are naturally - štrukli. When I recently tried with my team to make the štrukli in the land of cheese, Switzerland, I was unpleasantly surprised. No fresh cottage cheese, they told us. Such only serves as a raw material for many other mature cheeses. Then was actually the first time I seriously wondered what is the secret of great popularity of this dish among the local but especially among foreign guests.

First things first. Ingredient that is most important in the štrukli is naturally fresh cottage cheese. We concluded that it is produced only in our region, so the cream cheese with sour cream and red peppers cannot be found 500 km away from this region. Much less štrukli. Of course there are surrogates like crème fraise or various fatty mountain cheeses but this, this one really is special in its freshness, given by its slight acidity, moderate fat and refined taste of milk that is only really began to ferment and still keeps the virginal flavor.

Štrukli are made of only a few ingredients. We would then say that it would actually be very easy to prepare them at home. Try it! Few dishes are so difficult to produce. Why? The explanation is simple. PASTRY. The pastry is stretched on a table surface of approximately 3 square meters and at its thickest part is still thinner than half a millimeter. The rest is easy if you choose a good cheese, fine homemade cream and of course good farmers eggs.

Štrukli, štrukle, štruklji....... in different parts of the Croatian mainland they are made in many different ways and I would not dare to favor any because I very much respect the very diversity of our gastronomy, especially the one of past days. There are, however Zagreb štrukli. Štrukli done only in the this micro region. Covered by the sweet, greasy cream immediately after cooking and baked to a beautiful golden copper color. It is precisely how nowadays they are represented in almost all our menus, from the simplest events to most luxurious banquets and caterings. They are the bestseller dish of all times at the Palace Hotel. They are loved by guests of all profiles and they gladly take them home to have at hand when their level of štrukli in blood drops.

To conclude: Štrukli are very light dish. Štrukli are very tasty dish. Štrukli are example of how simplicity can be attractive and distinctive. Štrukli are the brand, unfortunately only in our country. One of the dishes that you can actually eat every day. I do not know why but they are never out of style. If we eat them only cooked I recommend them as a diet food that can be recommended in many medical nutrition suggestions.

The Palace hotel produces them every day by traditional, tried & tested recipe. Of course we have improved the quality so that each ingredient is carefully chosen and controlled. It is not irrelevant whether cheese has this or that many fats or solids and if the eggs come from free range farms in which happy chickens freely roam the and are stress free. The quality is determined by three things: excellent ingredients, expert preparation and love for the product and the consumer - guest.