Dry Fruit Strudel As Made In Assisi Recipes

APPLE PEAR STRUDEL WITH DRIED FRUIT AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment.
• Place the dried fruit in a bowl and pour on hot or boiling water to cover. Let sit 5 minutes, and drain. Toss the apples with the lemon juice.
• Heat a large, heavy frying pan over high heat and add 2 tablespoons butter. Wait until it becomes light brown and carefully add the apples and the sugar. Do not add the apples until the pan and the butter are hot enough, or they won't sear properly and retain their juice. But be careful when you add them so that the hot butter doesn't splatter. When the apples are brown on one side, add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and almonds, flip the apples and continue to sauté until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the pears and dried fruit, then scrape out onto one of the lined sheet pans and allow to cool completely. Divide into two equal portions (easiest to do this if you weigh it).
• Place 8 sheets of phyllo dough on your work surface. Cover with a dish towel and place another, damp dish towel on top of the first towel. Place a sheet of parchment on your work surface horizontally, with the long edge close to you. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough on the parchment. Brush lightly with butter and top with the next sheet. Continue to layer all eight sheets, brushing each one with butter before topping with the next one.
• Brush the top sheet of phyllo dough with butter. Sprinkle on half of the almond powder (50 grams). With the other half, create a line 3 inches from the base of the dough, leaving a 2 1/2-inch margin on the sides. Top this line with one portion of the fruit mixture. Fold the bottom edge of the phyllo up over the filling, then fold the ends over and roll up like a burrito. Using the parchment paper to help you, lift the strudel and place it on the other parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with butter and make 3 or 4 slits on the diagonal along the length of the strudel. Repeat with the other sheets of phyllo to make a second strudel. If you are freezing one of them, double-wrap tightly in plastic.
• Place the strudel in the oven and bake 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush again with butter, rotate the pan and return to the oven. Continue to bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

RUSSIAN STYLE MIXED/DRIED FRUIT STRUDEL

Steps:

• Put the flour in the bowl of an electric mixer. On slow, mix in the butter until it looks like very coarse meal. Mix in the sour cream until it masses together to form a dough. Pat into a rectangle, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
• Filling:
• Coarsely chop the prunes. In a small saucepan, cover the prunes with the prune juice and sugar. Bring to a simmer for 3 minutes. Place in a food processor with the vanilla and puree to a paste. Mix in the raisins, cherries and walnuts. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a square 16 by16 inches. Place the filling in a log running along the bottom and roll up. Pinch the ends closed. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, seam side down. Mix the egg and water together to form a wash and paint the strudel. Bake for 30 minutes until crisp and golden. Let cool on a rack, then slice into 1 inch pieces.
• This was my Grandma Bessie's baking specialty. I haven't had this since she died but my brothers and I talk of it often, trying to re-construct what was in it. I re-discovered it at the Golden Key in Brighton Beach. Can be made on a rainy day with items in the pantry

DRY FRUIT STRUDEL AS MADE IN ASSISI

Steps:

• A day before baking the cookies, prepare the fruit: Mix the chopped dried fruit and chopped apple in a bowl, toss with 1/2 cup of the sugar, pour in the vin santo, and stir. Cover with plastic wrap, and macerate overnight in the refrigerator.
• The next day, strain the fruit, catching and reserving the juices in a small saucepan. Return the fruit to the bowl, and toss with the chopped nuts.
• To make the dough: Stir together the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil, tossing the dry mix with a fork to form coarse crumbs. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water, and pour over the crumbs, tossing and mixing them into a slightly sticky dough. Wrap the dough in plastic, press it into a small flat block, and let it rest briefly.
• Arrange two racks in the oven, and heat it to 375°. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Unwrap the dough, place it between two other pieces of parchment paper, and roll it into a thin rectangular sheet, 12 by 15 inches. Remove the top parchment, and spread the fruit-nut filling on the dough, leaving a 1-inch margin uncovered on all sides. Gently pat the filling so it adheres to the dough.
• Roll up the dough like a jelly roll, starting at one of the longer sides, into a cylinder or log about 15 inches long. You can lift the bottom parchment to support the dough sheet as you fold it over into a spiral, enclosing the filling. When the log is finished, wrap it fully in the parchment paper (so it doesn't stick to the table), and roll it back and forth a few times to make it more compact (and easier to cut).
• Unwrap the log, and trim off the ends with the serrated knife. Next, slice the log crosswise every 1/2 inch or so, into disk-shaped spiral cookies. (If these begin to crumble as you cut, re-form the log into a compact shape, and start cutting again.) Lay the cookies flat and spaced apart on the lined baking sheets.
• Place the sheets on the two oven racks, and bake for about 15 minutes, then rotate the pans-top to bottom rack, and back to front-and bake another 15 minutes or so, until the dough is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
• Meanwhile, heat the reserved fruit juices to the boil in a small saucepan, and cook until syrupy and reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove the baking sheets from the oven onto wire racks, and while the cookies are still hot, drizzle the fruit syrup over them.
• Let the cookies cool completely. They will keep for a week or two if well wrapped or in a cookie tin.