The only kind of strudel I’ve seen in the U.S. is the Viennese apple strudel. In fact, when Americans say “strudel,” they mean “apple strudel.” However, the word strudel means whirlpool in German, and describes any rolled flaky pastry with any filling, meet, cheese, fruit, or vegetables. There is actually a sauerkraut strudel! The first one, though, was created in Vienna in 15th century, as the wave of Ottoman Empire conquests brought with it Turkish baklava, among other exotic foods. Crafty Viennese literally twisted the Turkish dessert, filled it with apples, and thus the famous Wiener Apfelstrudel was born.
The one that became a part of our Rosh Hashana celebration is a Plum Prune Strudel, filled with jam, or prune butter, made of Italian Prune Plums, sometimes also called European plums. In Russia and Ukraine they are known as Hungarian plums, and every summer all of us kids were sent up the trees to pick them for povidlo – the jam. Povidlo would percolate in huge copper pots for several hours, stirred by adults and protected from curious bees by us. Pronounced ready, the thick dark purple mass was poured into jars, while still hot, and hermetically closed, to preserve for winter. The first jar was always opened to make the first strudel of the year, for Rosh Hashana.
I do know how to make flaky dough, but ready-made Phyllo dough is one of the shortcuts that make my life easier. The filing consists of prune butter combined with roughly chopped walnuts, raisins, and a splash of lemon juice.
Once you combine all four filling ingredients, I suggest to taste it. If it’s too sour to your taste, add some honey or sugar.
Lay out several sheets of flaky dough (6 – 8), overlapping them by 2 -3 inches (5 -8 cm). Mist with oil between layers and on top of the top layer. Spoon the filling in a row, about 2 – 3 inches from you and the same distance from both sides. Cover it with the center flap, then the sides, and roll to the end. You should end up with the seam down.
Paint it with egg wash and bake for 40 – 45 minutes until golden brown. Let it cool completely before cutting, otherwise you’ll crush it. “Ot azoy ist der leybn, – muttered my grandmother, cutting the strudel, – sweet is dark, and dark is sweet. Gamzeletoive – and this is good!”
Life is full of hidden messages. What seems sweet to us, might have a darker side, and what appears dark, will turn out sweet. For a year full of sweet surprises, enjoy this scrumptious dessert! Shana Tova u’Metuka! A Zis Yor!
The dissemination of all my holiday recipes to a wider audience has been made possible through a valiant effort of Esme, The Recipe Hunter, of https://cookandenjoyrecipes.wordpress.com, and her fantastic Recipe Exchange program. Thank you again, dear Esme, for performing this vitally important service for the community.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 – 8 sheets Phyllo, or any other flaky dough
- 2 cups Prune Butter or any dark jam, i.e. blueberry, blackberry, etc.
- 1/2 cup raisins (2 oz)
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Alternatively, 1 tablespoon honey or sugar to taste
PROCEDURE
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease baking sheet.
- Combine all filling ingredients. Mix well. Adjust sweetener to taste.
- Layer Phyllo dough overlapping sheets by 2 – 3 inches (5 – 8 cm). Spray each layer with oil.
- Place filling in a row 2 -3 inches from you and from the sides. Cover filling with center flap first, then side flaps. Roll to the end, finish seam down.
- Paint with egg wash, bake for 40 – 45 minutes.
- Remove, cool completely before cutting.
Enjoy!
Looks great! 🙂
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Thank you – glad you like it!
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Prune Butter. That’s a new ingredient for me. I’ll have to look for it next time I go to the store. Great recipie!
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Thank you so much! It is sometimes hard to find, but you could substitute any dark thick jam. If it’s not tart enough, just add a bit more lemon juice.
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I finished this one at 5 in the morning and collapsed. I can only imagine how hard you worked to get all my stuff posted! You will surely get lots of credits from the Man Above!
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Wow fantastic, this looks awesome and the colours looks perfect. I love baking, hope I got a right site now to learn a lot. So stop by my blog, hope it would be interesting and worth of your precious time 🙂 Stay connected.
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I just did, and I love what I saw, and will follow,with pleasure!
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Thanks
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Happy Rosh Hashanah, Dolly!
Did you see your post today?
https://purpleslobinrecovery.wordpress.com/2016/10/03/dollys-desire/
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Just did – thank you! You made my day!
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You’re welcome! Oh, I’m glad!
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Hi my friend!!
I decided to choose you for this amazing and interesting TAG about Autumn:
https://theguywhosaidalwaysno.com/2016/10/06/autumn-tag/
I hope you like it, and have a beautiful day! :):)
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very interesting recipe
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Thank you so much, I am glad you like it!
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Never heard of prune butter before. Thanks for introducing this. Will try it here. Thank you Dolly.
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If there is apple butter, why wouldn’t there be prune butter? I have a quick recipe for it, too, not like we used do it when it took several hours. If I get some really good “hungarian” plums, I’ll make a batch and post it.
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Oh thank you. Looking forward for that.
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After all the holidays, dear…
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Believe it or not, I already knew about lekvar. Many low fat recipes substitute it for some or all the the shortening, and I usually found it under that name only (NYC – of course!).
I tried it in a number of recipes long ago when I was trying to lose 30 pounds gained before I got rid of the medication that completely changed my metabolism – serious about reducing my calorie intake until I was back to my usual weight.
But Dolly — where’s the chocolate? LOL 🙂
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to educate a world!”
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No chocolate in traditional Jewish holiday cooking – sorry about that! They simply did not have it.
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I was kidding, but I do have a question about chocolate during the holidays. Is it more like traditional Thanksgiving Dinner in America, or are you not permitted to eat it?
xx,
mgh
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We are certainly permitted, and my cousin makes a point of bringing a chocolate Babka to the holiday table because she knows I love it, but I make a point of being very traditional in my holiday cooking, and in the old times, they simply did not have chocolate.
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Thanks for clarifying. I like to know these things.
xx,
mgh
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I know you do, and I appreciate that!
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Reblogged this on koolkosherkitchen and commented:
This dessert is the last one to appear on our holiday table, for a sweet year, full of joy. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a wonderful, healthy, and blessed year!
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Beautiful strudel … seeing the plum filling with the walnuts and raisins reminds me of the first time I opened a jar of mincemeat in colour, texture and that complex combination of flavours.
The plum filling itself reminds me of the thick plum conserve that my mom used to spend long hours cooking on the stove and pouring into jars to store in the basement. There’s a small pantry down there that used to hold her canning. Unfortunately, my brother and I preferred the overly sweet and thinner Canadian jams to her thick, dark concoctions. My mother herself wasn’t fond of jams to start with … though she’d enjoy the occasional jar of rosehip imported from Poland or somewhere else overseas. My dad liked anything sweet but he was outnumbered and could be easily placated with some other sweet that my mother would make. Like crepes. 🙂
As I’ve gotten older and my tastes developed, I’ve missed a jar of that thick plum jam that I used to turn my nose up at.
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Thank you for sharing your memories – they are very much coinciding with mine in many ways. We usually buy this thick plum jam, as well as rosehip jam, in Russian and Polish stores. I am sure you can find it there!
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I used to buy it for my mom occasionally while she was still with us. I’ve been tempted to buy a jar just for myself … and spread it on crepes. PS: I made a batch of crepe batter after supper last night and around 10 pm I got a craving. Made 4 crepes and spread them with strawberry jam. Delicious. 🙂
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And again, great minds think alike! I got a jar of strawberry jam last week from a Polish store, and last night spread it on leftover Leikach – yummy!
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Just reading the last few comments made me hungry…lol…Nice recipe and different I love the addition of walnuts 🙂
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Thank you so much, Carol! Walnuts are called Royal (or King) Nuts in Hebrew. On Rosh Hashana, the most important prayer is “Our Father, Our King,” where The King presents Himself as the Father Figure to the entire humanity.
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I must try this. The phyllo is in the freezer. All I needed was the inspiration you provided with this scrumptious recipe and some plum jam which I can pick up at a local deli here in Minneapolis. Thank-you!
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My pleasure, and please let me know how it comes out! Good luck!
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I always love your decoration too. Best wishes, Michael.
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Thank you so much for your kind comment and wishes, Michael!
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I would enjoy this
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I wish I could send you some by e-mail, Derrick. Barring that, would the Culinary Queen like to give it a try?
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I’ll ask.
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Good luck.
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