Apple Strudel

Pastry

Ingredients

250 grams flour
50 grams butter
4 grams sugar
a pinch of salt
1 egg
75 ml water

Method

The pastry is best made, at least couple of hours in advance (or the day before) to let it rest before trying to roll it out..

Combine the flour egg, salt and sugar on a wooden table or marble slab

Put butter and water over gentle heat till butter just liquefies and then pour into the flour

Make a paste and work it energetically until the pastry becomes soft and flexible and does not stick to your fingers

Continue working the pastry, throw against the board several times until it gets the required elasticity. Roll out finely and then fold and re-fold into a package shape. Put it aside to rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably leave it covered for several hours or overnight.

It is best to use a marble slab or a large wooden board, otherwise the pastry slips as you roll. To help stop it slipping try rolling out the pastry in a cloth or between plastic

The pastry should be not too fine as you need to taste it as well as the apple.

Make into a long oval shape for the strudel

Filling

Ingredients

1 kilo green apples
15 grams sugar or 30 ml mostocotto*
4 sweet biscuits crushed (sponge finger style biscuits)
30 almonds blanched and toasted
35 grams pine nuts toasted
15 grams sultanas
Pastry cream - optional ( see recipe above)

Method

Core the apples, peel and slice. Not too finely. Cook the apples in just enough water to cover them. Let the water come to the boil then take off. Don't let the apples get mushy.

Take out the apples and then reduce the juice (this can get too sweet, so check for your taste) to a syrup consistency and then pour back over the apples

Put crushed biscuits on top of the apple mixture and then fold through the almonds, pine nuts and sultanas (can also add more mostocotto if you want more flavour and sweetness). If you are using pastry cream, cool and fold through also.

Lay the apple filling down the middle of the pastry oval, fold over and pinch at the top to make a ripple effect. Turn the ends in and pinch. You can also make a crescent shape, Italians aren’t traditional about the form of strudel..

The pastry should not be completely sealed. You have to allow the steam to get out, otherwise all the juice will pour out when you cut it.

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees C. Grease baking tray and lay on strudel. Cook 20-25 minutes till pastry is cooked. Apples are already cooked.

Take out of oven and dust with icing sugar when still hot.

*Mostocotto is grape juice made after pressing and before fermenting which is cooked and reduced by a third. Just the juice, no sugar. Silvana says that her family used mostocotto in lots of things, ‘A lot of people use cinnamon and spices in the strudel but if you use mostocotto that’s not a good idea. But if you are using plain sugar then the taste of cinnamon is fine. However, don't use so much that you lose the natural flavour and sweetness of the apple’.

To get lemon rind without the pith. Hold the lemon in one hand and use a small sharp knife. With the hand holding the lemon push the lemon down as you use the knife and this keeps the pith from coming off with the knife. Put your finger on the centre of the knife blade to put pressure on.