In this winter time of the year, my steps led me to Croatia. I have wanted to visit this country for quite some time now. In particular, my curiosity peaked when I read about the oysters on the Croatian coast. I cannot remember where exactly I read it, but oysters there are apparently supposed to be amazing!

Unfortunately during this visit, I stayed in Zagreb only, as this was a short business trip. The city welcomed me with rain and winter chill and hence there was a need of finding place with warm, preferably local, cuisine.

But let me write few observations about the capital of Croatia, first. I found the place rather interesting and pleasant to walk around, despite the winter weather. The Old Town offers a web of lovely small alleys with hidden gems of bars and restaurants. Everyone can find something up to one’s liking, not to mention many museums, churches, theaters, and undisclosed number of souvenir shops.

In my explorations, I came across a little restaurant called La Struk. It was bit challenging to find it at first, but once it was found, the feeling of coziness surrounded me. The inside of the restaurant is a rather small space, with just few wooden tables and chairs. The menu is not the biggest either, and it offers a local dish called strukli, served with cheese and other different additions. The dish is mainly served in local households, made of dough and various types of fillings. There were different varieties of strukli: made with something for a sweet tooth, e.g. with honey and walnut, or salty (cheese), or something in the middle (truffles, paprika, and red cabbage or pumpkin seeds).

Strukli, whether boiled or baked, is prepared in the same way. The thin pastry is rolled out flat to cover the table. Then the mixture of cheese, eggs, sour cream and additional filling is spread across the dough. After this, the pastry is rolled into two joined rolls, and then cut into 10-20 cm pieces.

The baked version I tasted involved placing two rolls into a baking dish. The cook covered them with a thick layer of cream, and baked it for 30minutes. It was ready to serve when the top turned brown.

Our strukli arrived hot and still sizzling. One can have boiled or baked version, while the cooked one is preferred by the local younger generation. I personally stayed with the baked option. I managed to taste strukli with salty cheese, one with sweet cheese, one with truffles and one with paprika. As a cheese aficionado, my favourite was one with salty cheese.

The taste of pastry reminded me of the fluffy pancake dough, with just enough of filling to make the combination not overwhelming and to make you want more. I could not help myself but to go back to La Struk for one more serving.