Mary Perpichs Apple Strudel Food

MARY PERPICH'S APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees or to its lowest setting.
• Combine 3 cups of the flour and the salt. Make a well in the flour, and into the well add the 1/2 cup of the oil, the eggs and water. Mix with a fork, and then knead well with your hands, about 20 minutes. Add more flour -enough to make a soft but not sticky dough. Put the dough in a ceramic bowl, cover with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and place in the oven until the dough is warm and easy to pull, about 20 minutes.
• On a table or other flat surface that is at least 3 feet by 5 feet, spread a clean sheet so that the edges hang slightly over the sides. Sprinkle the sheet with flour, and roll out the dough to form a 9-by-13-inch rectangle.
• The novice may want to ask a friend to help stretch the dough. Using your hands, start stretching and lifting the dough with your fingertips until you can see through it. When you are finished, the dough should cover the table's surface. Try to minimize the number of holes, but a few won't matter.
• Scatter the apples over the dough. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and bread crumbs. Dribble about three-fourths of the melted butter over the mixture. Taking hold of the sheet on the longer (5-foot) side, lift the sheet up and over the apples to start rolling up the dough jellyroll-style. Place the strudel in a greased jellyroll or baking pan, large enough to hold the pastry comfortably. You will probably have to form the pastry into a large crescent to fit. If desired, freeze the strudel and bake later, or pour the remaining butter on top of the strudel and bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden. If the strudel begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil.

APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, create a slurry by combining 1/4 cup of the apple juice with the cornstarch. Mix until smooth and set aside.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the apples with the remaining 1 cup apple juice, raisins, sugar and cinnamon until the apples are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir the cornstarch slurry (it may have settled) and add it to the apple mixture, stirring constantly until smooth and lump free. Simmer for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool. Stir in the pecans, cover and chill.
• Lay out 1 phyllo sheet on a clean, flat, lightly floured surface. Brush with some melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs. Repeat this procedure with two more layers of phyllo, butter and breadcrumbs. Top with the fourth sheet of phyllo. Spread the apple filling evenly onto the phyllo surface, leaving a 1/2-inch clean edge on all sides. Roll into a log, folding the edges at each end beneath the log and brush with some melted butter. Carefully place the strudel on the prepared baking sheet, seam-side down. Bake the strudel until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before cutting into 2-inch slices. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar just before serving. Serve plain or with ice cream.

APPLE STRUDEL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat 75g of the sugar and the vanilla seeds in a medium, heavy-based frying pan over a medium-low heat for 5-8 mins, or until golden brown and caramelised. Add the apples, currants, sultanas, allspice, nutmeg and walnuts, then cook for 10 mins or until the apple is tender. Remove the apple mix from the pan with a slotted spoon and cool to room temperature.
• Line two baking trays with baking paper. Place a sheet of filo on one of the trays, then brush lightly with the melted butter. Sprinkle over 1 tsp sugar. Repeat the process until there are 3 layers of filo. Repeat with the remaining sheets of filo on the second tray.
• Divide the apple mix along the shorter edge of both pastry sheets and gently roll into 2 logs, tucking in the ends as you go. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle over 1 tbsp sugar. Can be made up to one day ahead, kept chilled. Bake for 25 mins, or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. Let cool slightly, then cut each strudel into 6 diagonal slices. Serve two slices each with a dollop of crème fraîche on the side.

MAMA SHOF'S PEAR PICKLES

Steps:

• 1. Boil the above ingredients together for 10 minutes.
• 2. Put pears in and only bring to a boil. Let stand overnight. Drain, save and reboil vinegar mixture, add pears. Bring to a good boil and seal. I remember her pickles being a little on the crunchy side and they were absolutely wonderful.