Almas Retes (Apple Strudel)

My husband’s grandmother from his mother’s side makes killer retes, which is Hungarian strudel. The pastry skin can be soooooo thin, it’s crazy how she can roll it that thin.

Too bad, I only come to know her in 2005, when she is already in her 80s. Altho she still makes it once awhile, it would always take so much of her energy.

I do not think I ever want to try to make the pastry skin myself 😛 Am too lazy. So here is my retes, the cheater way! I mean, using store bought frozen puff pastry 😉

6 green apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (I’d use 6 red apples sometimes, instead green)

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 1 whole lemon juice, squeezed)
1/4 cup sultanas (I used slightly more than 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup sugar

pinch ground cloves (I usually would end up with 3 pinches)

1/2 cup dry white breadcrumbs (but regular breadcrumbs, unseasoned, works fine)
2/3 cup ground almonds (or see NOTE)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

8 sheets filo pastry (most of the times I would end up using 1 lb filo sheets)

100 g butter, melted

icing sugar, for dusting (or see NOTE)

cream or ice cream, to serve

Method:

Preheat the oven to moderate 180?C (350?F/ Gas 4) and lightly grease a baking tray. Put the apple, lemon juice, sultanas, sugar, cloves and breadcrumbs in a large bowl, and mix well. Combine the almonds and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Lay 1 sheet filo pastry horizontally on a work surface and brush with melted butter. Lay another sheet over it so that it overlaps the first sheet on the edge furthest from you by 5 cm. Brush the second sheet then sprinkle with a quarter of the almond mixture. Repeat until you have used all the filo and almond mixture. Place the apple mixture along the edge closest to you, leaving a 4 cm border on 3 sides. Carefully roll up, folding the sides over about halfway, then roll to the end.

Place the strudel on the prepared baking tray, seam-side-down. Brush with melted butter and bake for 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve with cream or ice cream.

Note:

Instead almond, I mixed sugar, cinnamon powder and breadcrumbs.
Instead sprinkling it with icing sugar, I made chocolate drizzle for topping.
I made a variation of the apple filling using walnut (recipe bellow). Before baking, I brushed the top and sprinkled with the cinnamon+breadcrumbs mixture

Walnut Filling (you can half the ingredients)

40 dkg ground walnut
32 dkg sugar
4 dkg raisin
grated lemon peel
1 dl water

Mix all ingredients and bring to boil, set aside and let cool completely

Much later on. Whenever I prepare this strudel though, I make them much simpler, using whatever I often have in the pantry, and am sharing the recipe below 😀 As delish!

4 Gala apples (you can use tart apple, green apple, etc, but at No Frills, they have these delicious gala apples which weirdly state as “naturally not perfect apples”), washed and peeled, chopped, cubed, shredded, or just sliced thinly, whichever you wish

1 c raisins, regular or golden, it’s up to you

1 c sugar (or brown sugar)

1/2 c almond meal (or unseasoned bread crumbs)

1 box frozen puff pastry, thaw at least 1-2 sheets

1-2 tbsp, melted

Additional almond meal/bread crumbs

1 egg mixed with 1/4 c milk

Preheat oven to 400 F

Mix ingredients set aside

Lay open/roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with almond meal and place some filling on one end

Roll nicely and seam to seal (if your edges werent brushed with melted butter, brush lightly with water so edges will be sealed)

Brush top with egg mixture and bake until golden brown (30-40 mins)

Enjoy 🙂

(I enjoyed mine with ice cream, of course :P)