Stuff it, roll it and enjoy!

If you've been following my blog long enough, than you certainly know how much I love making strudel, savoury or sweet, I love it all.
But it's been a while since I last posted one.
I set out one day to make just a plain apple strudel. And then along the way changed my mind. I was preparing the ricotta filling for fillo triangles and then in a flash decided I wanted to do a different kind of apple strudel. Cranberries happened to be there, and I thought little red speckles would be a nice touch.
I was surprised how good it tasted. And it was even better the next morning with a glass of cold milk. I didn't have any ice cream, but that would have been a gorgeous combo, too.
A short news about my doggy, the surgery went well, the vet took care of his hernia and his other part... let's say he won't be having kids in the future, to reduce the risk of hernia coming back. It's a bit like taking care of a(nother) child now.
Hope everyone's had/having a beautiful Sunday.



Apples, Cranberries and Ricotta strudel

For the fillo dough (if making your own, otherwise ignore and use the storebought):
250 g flour
3 TBspoons oil (I use either corn or EVO oil) + more for brushing
100 ml water (lukewarm or room temp.)
50 ml milk
a pinch of salt

the Filling:
3 apples
5-6 TBspoons dried cranberries
juice from 1 orange
200 g ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 TBspoons cornstarch
sugar (to your taste, depending on apples as well)

Put the dried cranberries into a small bowl with the orange juice and let them soak until you’re ready to prepare the filling.
Start making the dough:
Sift the flour and the salt into a mixing bowl.
Make a well in the middle and add the oil, and then gradually the water mixed with the milk, mixing with a wooden spoon all the time until all the flour has been absorbed and the dough is homogeneous.
Drop the dough on a lightly floured kneading board and start kneading, adding just a sprinkle of flour every time it starts sticking to your hands or the kneading board, the longer the better. This will help gluten to develop and it will result in soft and elastic dough later, that won’t tear while trying to pull it really thin.
Divide the dough in half and form two balls, flour them and leave covered with a cotton cloth on the kneading board for 30 minutes. The resting time is also very important.
While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.
Wash, peel and core the apples, cut them into very small cubes.
Put the egg into a mixing bowl, whisk it a little and then mix in the ricotta cheese, sugar (I usually add it by TBspoons until I’m satisfied with taste) and the cornstarch.
Add the apples and the drained cranberries. Mix well and set aside.
Turn your over to 200°C.
Cover your table with a clean (possibly old) tablecloth and flour it lightly. Take one ball of dough, flatten it with your hands first, sprinkle with flour and start rolling out with a rolling pin, lifting it and rotating (not flipping) after every few strokes.

Drizzle the whole surface with oil and spread it evenly with your hand.
What follows is the most delicate phase: forget the rolling pin and start pulling the dough gently with your hands and alternately putting your hands underneath and pulling gently. Want to have some fun? Watch the video my daughter made – not a professional quality production, but if you’ve never seen how this is done, it will sure give you some idea.



When the dough is thin enough (you should be able to see through it, that’s how thin it will get), cut the thick edge of the dough (it doesn’t really taste well once the strudel’s baked).
Spread half of the filling along a longer side of the dough.

Roll the dough up lifting the tablecloth.

Cut the thus obtained strudel in two or three parts (depending on the size of your baking tin), and transfer them onto the baking tin lined with baking paper brushed or sprayed with oil. Brush the surface of the strudel with oil or melted butter.
Repeat the process with the other part of the dough and the remaining filling. Bake for about 25 minutes, until nicely golden. You can take the strudel out 5 minutes before it’s done and brush it with some sour cream or heavy cream, and then put back into the oven for 5 more minutes.

Strudel con ricotta, mele e mirtilli rossi

pasta fillo:
250 g di farina
3 cucchiai di olio (+ ancora per spennelare la pasta)
un pizzico di sale
100 ml di acqua tiepida + 50 ml di latte

Ripieno:
3 mele
5-6 cucchiai di mirtilli rossi (cranberries)
succo di un’arancia
200 g di ricotta
1 uovo
2 cucchiai di amido di mais
Zucchero (a piacere, circa 2-3 cucchiai, dipende anche dalle mele)

Mettete i mirtilli rossi in una ciotola con il succo d'arancia. Lasciateli in ammollo mentre preparate il resto.
In una ciotola, mettete la farina setacciata, aggiungete l'olio, sale e l'acqua mescolata al latte, mescolate fino a incorporare tutta la farina, formando un impasto omogeneo. Trasferite tutto su una spianatoia infarinata, e lavorate a lungo aggiungendo altra farina ogni volta che la sfoglia inizia ad appiccicarsi alle mani. Piu a lungo lavorate la sfoglia piu sarà elastica dopo.
Dividete l'impasto in due parti uguali e formate due palline, cospargetele di farina e lasciatele riposare coperte per 30 minuti.
Nel frattempo, lavate, sbucciate e tagliate a dadini le mele.
In una ciotola mescolate la ricotta con l'uovo leggermente sbattuto e l'amido.
Aggiungete le mele, i mirtilli scolati dal succo e lo zucchero (regolatevi assaggiando). Mescolate bene tutto.
Coprite il tavolo con una tovaglia pulita e infarinatela. Mettete la sfoglia al centro e stendetela con il mattarello. Ungete tutta la superficie della sfoglia con l'olio. Poi, infilando le mani sotto la pasta, tiratela delicatamente in tutte le direzioni e senza fretta, fino ad ottenere una sfoglia molto sottile (e trasparente).
Con un coltello tagliate i bordi spessi.
Distribuite metà del composto lungo il lato più lungo. Arotolate lo strudel aiutandovi con la tovaglia. Tagliate lo strudel in due o tre parti e trasferitelo su una teglia ricoperta da carta da forno.
Ripetete tutto con l'altra parta della pasta fillo e il ripieno rimasto. Spennellate lo strudel con l'olio o burro fuso oppure l'uovo sbattuto con un cucchiaio di latte e mettete a cuocere nel forno già preriscaldato a 200°C per circa 30 minuti.


Savijača s jabukama, brusnicama i sirom

za vučeno tijesto:
250 g mekog brašna
3 žlice ulja
100 ml vode
50 ml mlijeka
malo soli

nadjev:
3 jabuke
5-6 žlica suhih brusnica
1 naranča (iscijeđeni sok)
200 g svježeg kravljeg sira (ja sam koristila ricottu)
1 jaje
2 žlice gustina
šećer (po ukusu)

Iscijedite sok naranče i u njemu namočite brusnice.
Stavite u zdjelu brašno i sol. Napravite jamicu pa u nju dodajte ulje i počnite miješati drvenom žlicom dodajući postepeno tekućinu (pomiješajte vodu i mlijeko). Nastavite mijesiti tijesto rukama na pobrašnjenoj dasci. Mijesite dugo i čvrsto, dodajite sasvim malo brašna ako vam se počne lijepiti za ruke i za radnu površinu. Što dulje mijesite tijesto to će se bolje razviti gluten u njemu i tijesto će poslije biti elastičnije i bolje se razvlačiti. Podijelite na dva dijela, pospite oba brašnom, pokrijte čistom krpom i ostavite da odmara 30 minuta.
Za nadjev pomiješajte sir, jaje, šećer i škrobno brašno.
Jabuke ogulite, očistite i narežite na kockice pa dodajte u smjesu od sira zajedno s ocijeđenim brusnicama. Lijepo sve izmiješajte. Malo pobrašnite stolnjak na kojem ćete razvlačiti tijesto.
Tijesto malo rastanjite rukom, pobrašnite pa valjkom dalje razvaljajte što tanje. Nauljite cijelu površinu (razmažite ulje rukom) i dalje razvlačite tako da nježno vučete krajeve i naizmjenično podvučete dlan ispod i vučete tijesto, i tako u krug dok ne dobijete željenu debljinu. Za ovu savijaču ne treba biti pretanko.
Odrežite nožem deblji rub tijesta.
Rasporedite nadjev s jedne strane uz duži rub. Smotajte u rolnicu uz pomoć stolnjaka. Premjestite na pleh obložen papirom za pečenje. Ponovite i s drugim dijelom tijesta. Namažite površinu uljem ili rastopljenim maslacem i pecite oko 25 minuta na 200°C, ili dok lijepo ne porumeni.