When a holiday season calls for roast turkey or duck, instead of serving it with the Croatian staple – mlinci (pasta tatters), in the region of Moslavina they are served with vanjkuši (pillows).
Ingredients:
750 g plain flour
½ dl oil
about 5 dl warm water
500 g cottage cheese
80 g maize
1 egg
100 g butter, melted
salt
Method:
Combine the flour, oil and just as much of the warm water as needed to get dough similar to that for strudel. Leave to rest for 20 minutes.
To make the filling, combine the drained cow cheese, maize (previously poured over with 1.5-2 dl hot water), the egg, butter and salt.
Half the dough and roll out each half to get a 50×60 cm rectangle, 3 mm thick. Brush a thin strip of the filling. Roll twice to get a thin strudel. Cut off the remaining dough using a plate. Brush another strip of the filling on the remaining dough, roll twice and cut. Repeat until all the filling and dough has been used (you should get about 10 thin strudels).
Arrange the strudels in a greased baking tin. Use the spine of your knife to press each strudel several times, 2-3 cm apart, thus forming “pillows” called vanjkuši.
Bake for 30 minutes in the oven preheated to 180 ºC.
When cold, cut the strudels to separate the “pillows”, place them in a large ovenproof dish and pour over with hot water. Leave for 1 minute and drain. Now pour over with the melted butter or with the pan juices and serve with roast turkey or duck.
Note:
Children like nibbling on vanjkuši. In that case, you don’t need to pour them over with hot water. You’d better grease them lavishly with butter prior to baking and bake them a few minutes longer, until golden and crispy. Once cold, you can nibble on them as much as you like!
