Apple Strudel

This is a first-time recipe for me. I never made apple strudel before, but I have had years of experience dealing with phyllo pastry, which is very much like strudel pastry on steroids. When I asked Saul what desserts I should make for Sukkot this year, he immediately and surprisingly answered “apple strudel.” For many years, he has told me stories about his mother making apple strudel the old-fashioned way by gradually and carefully stretching the dough across her floured tablecloth with the backs of her hands until it was transparently thin, covering the entire tabletop and overlapping the sides. Stuffed dishes, such as prockas (stuffed cabbage) are traditional for Sukkot, and I guess this was a nostalgic and pleasant memory of his mother, who was an exceptional cook and baker in her day. She now resides in an Alzheimer’s Care Unit (Lion’s Gate) in New Jersey.

My memories of apple strudel are from the bakery at which my maternal grandfather worked until well into his seventies, The White Palace, right up until the day he died suddenly of a heart attack betting on the race horses he loved at Delaware Park. Their version was crisp, heavy and oily, and the filling contained candied cherries and shredded coconut. From this strudel, which I liked very much, I learned about heartburn. I wanted to develop a recipe using paper-thin phyllo that was tasty and well-stuffed, but light. We are a lot more prone to heartburn at this age. I am very happy with the results.

Apple Strudel

• 1 lb. pkg. frozen phyllo pastry, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
• 12 Tbsp. or 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 8 large assorted apples (Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Gingergold, etc.)
• 3/4 cups golden or assorted raisins
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger root
• 1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup finely grated walnuts

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel apples, quarter, and core centers. Slice into very thin slices.

In a large mixing bowl, combine apples, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, lemon peel and juice and toss until the apples are well coated.

Melt butter.

Unwrap and lay out phyllo pastry. If the leaves stick together and are difficult to separate, do not attempt to go further. Return the package from whence it came and make a pie. Assuming that the phyllo is fresh, the leaves will separate relatively easily using normal care. Once the phyllo is unwrapped, do not allow yourself to be interrupted until you have finished the entire stack, or the phyllo will dry out and no longer be flexible.

Remove one sheet and lay out separately. Using a wide pastry brush, butter the sheet and sprinkle with finely ground nuts. Top with a second sheet, butter and sprinkle. Top with a third sheet, butter and sprinkle. Top with a fourth sheet and just butter.

Spoon apple filling in about a three-inch-wide line down the longest side of the phyllo leaving about a one-inch edge. Raise the edge and carefully fold over the filling rolling gently until the other edge has been reached. Place the entire roll, seam side down, on a buttered baking sheet.

Brush top generously with butter. Continue process until all the filling and phyllo have been used. (My phyllo sheets were almost square and yielded five rolls, but some brands are rectangular and larger.) Brush all rolls with butter.

Bake in the middle of the oven at 400°F. for 10 minutes, then, reduce the heat to 350°F. and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the strudel is crisp and brown.

Once cool, use a serrated knife to cut the rolls carefully into two-inch sections for serving.

These may be frozen. Best served slightly warm. Yields about 60 pieces.