Apple and Roquefort Strudel

This recipe comes from Val Archer’s book A Basket of Apples: Recipes and paintings from a country orchard. Use the most flavorful apples you can find so they aren’t overwhelmed by the cheese. The recipe makes one large strudel, but consider making it into small triangles to serve as an appetizer. Cut the phyllo dough into 3x11” strips. Place a tablespoon of filling one inch from the end of a buttered strip and fold the end over to form a triangle. Wrap the triangle back and forth as you would if you were folding a flag. Keep the completed triangles covered with a towel til you are finished making them. Brush the triangles with butter, and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes til golden and crisp. Serve hot from the oven with a chilled glass of sparkling cider.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb apples, cored and cut in 1/2” dice

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • 1 tsp dried thyme

  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 8 oz Roquefort, Blue or Stilton cheese

  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

  • freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

  • 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs

  • 4 large sheets of phyllo pastry

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

  2. Put the diced apple in a medium-sized bowl; toss with the lemon juice, thyme and nutmeg.

  3. Mix in walnuts and crumbled cheese. Season to taste.

  4. Grease a large baking sheet. Unwrap the package of phyllo dough and lay a damp towel over it. Place one sheet on the baking sheet, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with one third of the bread crumbs. Repeat with the next two sheets of phyllo, laying them on top of the first sheet. Add the fourth sheet to the pile, brush with butter but don’t sprinkle with bread crumbs.

  5. Spoon the filling along one end of the stack of phyllo dough, leaving about 2” on each side. Fold the side edges over the filling, and then roll up the phyllo to enclose the filling. Roll the strudel so the seam is down. Brush with melted butter.

  6. Bake 30 minutes til the pastry is golden and the apples are tender.

  7. Remove from the oven and brush with more butter. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.