Winter is coming, so we wanted to build a dish with rich flavours enhanced by subtle complementary notes. We got our idea in a roundabout way while listening to Christmas Songs. “Schnitzel with Noodles and Crisp Apple Strudel…These are a few of my favourite things.” Naturally, we thought we should make a savory strudel. We’ve already reclaimed pies from their desserty captors and brought them into the Army of the Savory, so we figured we should see whether we could give Strudel the same treatment. We are happy to report that it worked very well (although, we now want apple strudel too).
We served our strudel with a combination of Mashed Parsnips, Mashed Celery Root, and sauteed snow peas. While mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables would also go well with this entree, we definitely suggest making our chosen side, as the sweet earthiness of our mash complemented the strudel magically.
Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
- 8-10 sheets of phyllo dough (defrosted in fridge overnight and set on the counter to get to room temp about an hour before cooking)
- 8 ounces of Ground Mutton or Lamb. If you prefer, ground pork or beef would probably work as substitutes.
- Mint Leaves. We used about 12-15 leaves that we grew and dried.
- Dried Cherries
- 1/2 of a Small Onion
- Black Pepper
- Spray Olive Oil
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Dice your onion, slice your mint into thin strips (or crumble it if dried), and slice your dried cherries.
- Melt some butter in a pan, and add your onion. Cook for a few minutes, and then add in your ground mutton, mint, and cherries.
- As your mutton cooks, turn your attention to your dough:
- Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Peel one sheet of your phyllo, and put it on your parchment paper.
- Give it a quick olive oil spray and black pepper sprinkle.
- Add your next sheet of phyllo, and give it a spray and sprinkle as well. Repeat until you’ve got 8-10 sheets of phyllo on your baking pan.
- When your mutton concoction is fully cooked, transfer it to a bowl, and let it cool for a minute or two.
- Spread your mutton concoction in a thick line over your phyllo dough. Leave a few inches oh the sides.
- Fold the sides overtop your mutton, and then roll your phyllo dough up to create a big log of deliciousness.
- Give the top an olive oil spray, and place your baking sheet into the oven, and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Remove, transfer to a cutting board, and slice your strudel. We cut ours into six pieces.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
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