Idrijski žlikrofi z bakalco
Slovenia's most famous dumpling from the mining town of Idrija: tiny hat-shaped parcels of thin dough filled with potato, bacon and chives, served under a rich mutton bakalca.
- prep
- 1 h 30 min
- cook
- 2 h
- total
- 3 h 30 min
- serves
- 6
- level
- hard
Žlikrofi are the pride of Idrija, a former mercury-mining town, and carry EU protected status. The thin egg dough is wrapped around a small dollop of peppery potato filling flavored with fried onion, bacon, chives and marjoram, then pinched into the little hat shape that gives them their look.
They are traditionally served with bakalca, a mutton or lamb sauce simmered slowly with onion, garlic, tomato and white wine until it falls apart. It is a two-stage dish, but both parts can be made a day ahead.
Idrijski žlikrofi z bakalco is one of the twenty most famous Slovenian foods.
method
Make the bakalca first: brown the mutton in the lard in a heavy pot, then take it out. Soften the onion in the same fat, add the garlic and tomato paste and cook a minute.
Return the meat, stir in the 1 tablespoon of flour, then add the wine and let it reduce by half. Add the stock, bay leaves and marjoram, and simmer gently, covered, for 1.5 to 2 hours until the meat is falling apart and the sauce is thick. Season.
For the dough, mix the flour, egg, oil, a pinch of salt and enough warm water into a smooth, firm dough. Knead for 5 minutes and rest it, covered, for 30 minutes.
For the filling, fry the bacon until it renders, add the onion and cook until golden. Mix with the mashed potatoes, chives, marjoram, a good amount of pepper and salt to taste. The filling should be firm enough to hold a shape.
Roll the dough out very thin (about 1 mm). Place hazelnut-sized dollops of filling in a row, 3 cm apart, along one half of a strip. Fold the other half over, press firmly around each mound to push out air, and cut between them with a pastry wheel.
Pinch each parcel around the filling so the dough forms a small hat-like cap with a ridged seam. Keep finished žlikrofi on a floured tray, uncovered, so they do not stick.
Simmer the žlikrofi in gently boiling salted water until they float, then 3 to 4 minutes more. Lift out with a slotted spoon and serve under the hot bakalca.
chef's tips
- Floury potatoes, not waxy: the filling needs to be dry and mealy, or the dumplings will burst.
- Žlikrofi freeze well uncooked: freeze on a tray, then bag, and cook from frozen for a few minutes longer.
- Roll the dough as thin as you can without tearing; thick dough hides the filling.