Strudel of spinach and ricotta (Strucolo)

A typical dish of some areas in the Astro-Hungarain territories mainly the areas ranging from Trieste to Gorizia and neighboring areas of Slovenia.

It is a particular type of strudel (strucolo), prepared with leavened dough, filled with ricotta and spinach, wrapped in a kitchen cloth and cooked in boiling water.

Cooking time: 40 mins

Prep time: 20 mins

Ingredients for 4 people

What do you need?

For the dough:

• 400 wheat flour.

• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

• Warm water.

For the filling:

• 500 gr of spinach.

• 250 gr of ricotta.

• 1 egg.

• 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.

• Salt to taste.

• Nutmeg to taste.

How to proceed?

1. In a bowl mix the flour and salt, add the oil and start mixing the dough.

2. Add water little at a time, until the dough is smooth but not sticky.

3. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to rest for an hour.

4. In the meantime, cook and squeeze the spinach. Chop finely (We prefer to saute them in a pan with oil and garlic to dry the spinach well and give it more flavor), add ricotta, salt, nutmeg, Parmesan and egg. Mix well all the ingredients.

5. Divide the dough in half and roll it out very thinly.

6. Arrange the pastry on a clean kitchen cloth, spread the filling and create the roll by wrapping it in the cloth.

7. Tie the ends with a roast twine, leave it long to facilitate extraction from the hot pot after cooking.

8. In a pot over high heat add some water and bring to a boil, add the roll and let it cook for 30 minutes.

9. Remove the roll, take out the kitchen towel. cut into pieces and dress with some melted butter before serving.