Apple strudel

This is a typical dessert from the Alto Adige region. Ideally, Renetta Ruggine apples should be used because they contain little water and do not soften the dough during cooking. Apple strudel is both a summer and winter dish.

Time

1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For pasta

• 1 lb all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ cup water

For filling

• 2 lb apples
• 3 ½ oz breadcrumbs
• 1 ¾ oz butter
• 1 ¾ oz pine nuts
• 1 ¾ oz raisins
• lemon zest, grated
• 2 teaspoons Rum
• 3 ½ oz sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Method:

40 minutes preparation + 40 minutes cooking

Step 1

Make a well in the center of the flour, place the egg inside and add the water.

Step 2

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Step 3

Make a dough which is smooth and solid.

Step 4

Melt the butter in a pan, add the bread crumbs and brown well.

Step 5

Cut the apples into segments.

Step 6

Mix the apples with the bread crumbs, pine kernels, raisins, grated lemon, cinnamon and the remaining ingredients. Leave it all to gain flavor.

Step 7

Roll out the dough and lay the filling on top.

Step 8

Close the dough by wrapping up the filling carefully, prick all over with a fork, brush with sunflower oil and sprinkle some pine kernels on top. Put the strudel into the oven for about 40 minutes at a temperature of 425°F.

CHEF'S TIPS

The filling must be made some hours before to exalt the flavor.

Seal the dough well and bake in a preheated oven.

Food History:

Even if people generally think that strudel is an Austrian dish, this sweet is originally Turkish. In fact, the precursor to the strudel is baklava, a Turkish dessert stuffed with dried fruit and spices. The Hungarians and Austrians were introduced to baklava during the invasion of Eastern Europe by the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century. From 1526 to 1699, the Turks dominated the Hungary and, during these two centuries, the Hungarians adopted many different aspects of the Ottoman culture, including various Turkish recipes.
In 1699, when the Turks lost their power over Hungary to the Hapsburgs, the recipe for baklava spread throughout Austria and became known as strudel. Unlike traditional baklava, strudel was made with the apples that grew across Europe.
During the Congress of Vienna in 1816, Austria gained control of Venice and the surrounding region and strudel spread throughout Northeastern Italy.