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IN THE KITCHEN: Down-home apple strudel goes global

By Faith Bahadurian Special Writer
    It’s not that I’m in a hurry to leave tomatoes and corn behind. But lately I’m thinking more of fall, so I recently spent some time in my kitchen working on a new apple dessert for my repertoire, based on a recipe I found at Cooks.com for Apple Strudel Baklava.
    I’d started off planning to make a more traditional rolled strudel (the German word means “whirlpool” or “eddy”) with my apples and the phyllo I had in the freezer, but couldn’t resist this Armenian take on the classic dessert. But I had some ideas of my own, as you’ll see in the notes below, making the baklava much, much easier to assemble. And the results were delicious.
    In browsing apple strudel recipes, I also came across versions using puff pastry. (Not to say you couldn’t make strudel dough from scratch, but let’s be realistic here.) One such version I found is in Robin Vitetta-Miller’s “The Newlywed Cookbook” (Sourcebooks, 1999). Her simple, straightforward instructions should overcome any reluctance you may have if you haven’t worked with puff pastry before.
    If you’d like to celebrate our local apple harvest, visit Terhune Orchards for their annual Apple Day extravaganza on Sept. 20 and 21. This year’s theme is Johnny Appleseed, and the entertainment includes a corn stalk maze, music, art, farmer “chores,” wagon tours of the orchards, and, of course, apple picking and eating galore. Or you can buy your apples in the farm store, and maybe also try one of Pam Mount’s delicious apple crisps.
    Apple Day details are at www.terhuneorchards.com. Each time I visit this Web site, it gets better. It includes a useful guide to different types of apples and the best uses for each, along with recipes for all kinds of dishes, and even canning and freezing instructions for peaches, berries, and herbs.
APPLE STRUDEL BAKLAVA
liberally adapted from Cooks.com
Note: The biggest change I have made here is to omit the buttering of individual layers, thanks to a great tip from my aunt, Alice Dadourian, that my father and I have made good use of over the years. Instead, I assembled the dough and filling, cut it into diamonds with a rotary pizza cutter, then poured the melted butter over all, shaking the pan slightly to help distribute the butter. It works fine, and spares me most of the handling of the delicate phyllo dough.
    Also, wonder of wonders, I happened to have a 12×17-inch pan that is an exact fit for the larger- size phyllo I buy at the Middle Eastern Market. But if you have the smaller-size pan called for below, you can trim that phyllo to fit. Also, I notice a lot of phyllo sold in supermarkets now comes in a smaller size, 9×14 inch, which is perfect for a 9×13-inch pan, and should also work in a 10×15-inch pan. There are 20 sheets of that to a pack (and 2 such packs in each box, so simply keep the rest frozen). I think the filling amount below will suffice for any of these pan sizes.
    The original recipe called for 1¼ cups butter (2½ sticks). I used ¾ cups (1½ sticks). Some people might like more, but I don’t recommend using less, unless you want a dry-ish result. I also tweaked a couple other ingredients to my liking.
1 package phyllo dough (28 12×17-inch sheets, or 20 9×14-inch sheets)
    ¾ cup butter, melted (1½ sticks)
Filling:
    2 cups coarsely shredded, peeled apples
    1 cup chopped walnuts
    1 cup chopped toasted almonds
    2/3 cup sugar
    ¼ cup golden raisins (I soak mine in 1½ tablespoons brandy)
    1 teaspoon lemon zest
    2 tablespoons lemon juice
    1 tablespoon cinnamon
To finish:
    ¾ cup honey
    ½ teaspoon vanilla
    2 teaspoons lemon juice
Combine filling ingredients, mixing well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    Lay 1/3 of the phyllo sheets on the bottom of a buttered 10×15-inch baking pan (just brush some of the melted butter on the bottom.) Spread half the filling on top. Add the next 1/3 sheets of phyllo, and the remaining filling. Top with remaining phyllo.
    Trim edges if necessary. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut into diamonds. Pour melted butter over and gently shake pan to distribute. Bake 35-40 minutes. Warm the honey in a small saucepan, mix in vanilla and lemon juice, and drizzle over hot baklava. Cool.
APPLE STRUDEL
“The Newlywed Cookbook”
1 puff pastry sheet (½ package), thawed according to package directions
    4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
    ½ cup granulated sugar
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 egg
    1 tablespoon water
    Non-stick cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    2. Unfold pastry on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 12×15-inch rectangle.
    3. In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla and toss to coat apples. Arrange apple mixture on top of pastry, to within ½ inch of edges. Starting from the shorter end, roll up pastry like a jellyroll. Place seam side down on a baking sheet that has been coated with non-stick spray.
    4. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg and water. Brush egg wash all over surface of pastry. Using a sharp knife, cut several 2-inch long slits, about 1/8-inch deep and 2 inches apart, on top of pastry.
    5. Bake 35 minutes, or until golden. Cool on baking sheet on a wire rack 15 minutes before slicing.