Strudel di mele (apple strudel)

For ➍-➏

 for the dough:*

150 g flour 

a pinch of salt 

2-3 tbs granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2-3 tbs olive or vegetable oil (or melted butter) 

water

for the filling:

750 g (1-2) apples 

75 g granulated sugar

handful of raisins, pre-soaked in rum 

handful of pinoli (pine nuts), or slivered almonds 

1-2 tbs cinnamon 

75 g breadcrumbs 

a good nob of butter 

for baking and finishing: 

more flour 

melted butter 

powdered sugar 

If using homemade dough, prepare it by mixing the dry ingredients, then the egg and oil, then finally just enough water to form a ball. Knead briefly until the dough is soft and elastic. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then in a towel, and let rest for a good 30 m or more. 

While the dough* is resting, peel, core and slice the apples as thinly as you can. 

Add the sugar, cinnamon and raisins, drained and squeezed dry, and the pine nuts or almonds.  Mix things all together, moistening the mixture with a bit of the rum in which the raisins have been soaked. Set aside. 

Sauté the breadcrumbs in the melted butter over very gentle heat until they are lightly browned. Do not over-brown the crumbs. When the dough* has rested at least a good 30 m, mold it into a flat, rectangular shape and place it on a well-floured cotton dish towel. 

Roll the dough* out as thinly as you can manage into a large, rectangular shape. Older recipes tell you to stretch it further with your hands, as you might a thin-crust pizza.

Brush the dough* liberally with melted butter, leaving the edges dry.  Spread the sautéed breadcrumbs in a thin layer all over the dough, leaving the edges clear. 

Pour the filling over the breadcrumbs and spread it out even, again avoiding the edges. 

With the aid of the towel, roll up the dough into a large lozenge-shaped loaf. 

Once the strudel is fully rolled up, tuck the edges under and, very gently, transfer this loaf onto a baking pan or sheet. Brush the loaf liberally with melted butter. If you prefer a ‘shiny’ surface to your strudel, brush the surface with milk or egg wash instead. 

Bake the strudel in a hot (200°C) oven for a good 30-45 m, until golden brown all over. (I find it helps browning if you brush it once or twice with more melted butter while it bakes.) Let the strudel cool entirely. Top with powdered sugar before serving in thick slices, perhaps with a nice side of whipped cream or ice cream if you’re feeling decadent.

*If using store-bought pastry dough, just lay it out flat on the sheet it is usually attached to and lay the breadcrumbs and filling out on top, then roll it up as usual. You won't need to brush it with butter, as pastry dough already has a high fat content, [although brushing it with milk will help it brown]. Use puff pastry or phyllo dough, which makes a particularly delightful Strudel, lay out one sheet, brush it with melted butter, then repeat until you have 4 or 5 layers of dough, before laying on the breadcrumbs and apple filling.

Strucolo di ciliege (a Friuli cherries' strudel)

For ➏
350 g flour
warm water or 2 eggs, lightly beaten*
1 ts of vinegar
salt
1 kg cherries, pitted & sliced**
25 g bread crumbs, toasted in a little butter
1 lemon, juiced & zest grated
50 g butter
125 g sugar

Sift the flour on a workplace, make a well in it. Add a pinch of salt, water or eggs, vinegar and knead the mixture well into a smooth dough that does not stick.

Roll the sheet out thinly (1 mm). Let rest for 30 m. Put on a clean kitchen towel and push out the dough into a rectangle.**

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Mix the cherries, bread crumbs, lemon juice, grated zest, butter and sugar together. Spread over the dough. Leave a free border at both side and and on the side close to you.

Lift the end of the towel towards you and gently push the dough to roll up. Use the last border part to seal the package. Seal the left and right borders as well. (Seal with some egg white.)

Put on a sheet of baking paper. Move gently into the oven and bake for 45 m.

Serve slices of the strucolo warm or lukewarm. A good grappa will make excellent company.

*Or just the yolks for a richer dough. Save egg whites for sealing.
**You can use apricots instead: 700 g apricots, pitted, sliced thinly + 80 g sugar + 25 g bread crumbs, browned in a little unsalted butter + 25 g butter. Change the filling to apples (and raisins). Walnuts and raisins with some rum and chocolate will do as well.
***As the dough is not sugared, it can be used for savory filling as well.

Until the end of the First World War, the Goriza province of the Alpine Friuli stayed a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The other provinces of the Carso plateau were already turned over to Italy in 1866, but stayed more central European than the rest of Italy. It has developed a cuisine that's close to Austrian and German cuisine.
This struciolo seems a variation of the classic Austrian Apfelstrudel, made with apples. This one, with cherries, is called Weichselstrudel in German. It goes well with the Trieste goulash (Gulyas alla Triestina) or Friuli winter salad for a hearty winter meal.
The strudel is a variation to the Ottoman cuisine baklava, made with flaky phyllo dough (which some cooks use as a replacement), and may have been developed in the Byzantine era. During Turkish occupation of central Europe in the 16th and 17th century, baklava shifted in some of these areas to a filling with apples, and a high gluten dough. From the former Turkish territories Croatia and Bosnia, close enough to Friuli to have a been a direct influence, and Hungary, it came to Austria, and became popular in the whole former Habsburg Empire and Germany. By immigration from central Europe, it spread to the United States, Israel and Brazil.