Recipe: Apple + Apricot Strudel

Recipe: Apple + Apricot Strudel
Serves 6–8

• 500g / 17.6oz apples
• 1 tbsp butter
• 60g / 2.1oz dried apricots, sliced
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 200g / 7oz apricots, fresh or canned and cut into quarters
• 50g / 1.7oz butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200g / 7oz filo pastry, at room temperature

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
2. Remove the apple cores and thinly slice.
3. Melt the tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan, and add the apples.
4. Pan fry for 5–6 minutes, or until the apples are tender and starting to turn golden around the edges.
5. Add the dried apricots, lemon juice, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg, and fry for another 2 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and add the fresh apricots. Set aside.
7. In a small saucepan, melt together the butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil until the butter has completely melted. Remove from the heat.
8. Use a pastry brush to brush a baking tray with a little of the melted butter.
9. Lay out the filo pastry on your benchtop.
10. Take the first two sheets of filo pastry and place them gently on the baking tray so they mostly cover the tray.
11. Brush the filo lightly with the melted butter.
12. Place the next two sheets of pastry on top of the first two sheets, doing your best to line them up.
13. Brush lightly with the melted butter.
14. Repeat with the remaining pastry until all the pastry sheets are layered on top of each other.
15. Spoon the apple and apricot mixture into the centre of the filo lengthways, trying to keep it tightly in the centre.
16. Brush the outside border of the pastry with melted butter to help stick the filo together.
17. Tuck the short ends of the pastry in and over the filling, and then fold the long sides in towards the centre so they overlap.
18. Gently roll the strudel over so the join in the pastry is on the bottom, and give the top one last brush with melted butter.
19. Place in the oven and bake for 30–40 minutes, or until golden.
20. Dust with cinnamon before serving. Serve with cream or natural yoghurt.

Recipe and styling by Amber Rossouw.