Potato, Leek and Goat's Milk Feta Strudel

[Potato, Leek and Goat's Milk Feta Strudel with Tomato Fennel Sauce]

The last of my C.C. kick ended with a phyllo dough delight  for Tuesday night supper.  This was my third installment of a Dish It Out craze I was trying to quench.  The first being Friday's jasmine rice cakes with sautéed shrimp and banana coconut sauce and secondly apple compote for my pork chops.  The recipe title for this one, won me over.  The Rocquefort cheese, however, did not.  Rocquefort cheese is part of the blue cheese family and while I am a big fan of French cuisine an overly dominant Rocquefort rustic pizza recipe mishap of my past has scarred me.  My wounds still fresh, I found a goat's milk feta and decided to improvise.  Feta is the closest texture wise I could come to its stinky counterpart (if there should be a better replacement please let me know).  This suited me just fine in the following recipe with added personal commentary:

Potato, Leek and Goat's Milk Feta Strudel

2 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-in/3-mm inch slices
1 large onion, sliced
3 leeks, light part only, washed thoroughly and finely sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped (directly from my garden)
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives  (it keeps on giving)
2 sprigs fresh tarragon (look at the bounty my garden provides!)
2 tbsp. sour cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4oz. Rocquefort or other blue cheese, crumbled (I used goat's milk feta)
5 sheets phyllo pastry
2-3 tbsp. olive oil (for brushing phyllo)
1 egg white

Sauce
1 tsp butter
1/2 bulb fennel, finely sliced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. cream (optional but in my opinion necessary)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Immerse potatoes in cold water and cook in a medium pot on high heat.  Bring water to a boil, add salt, and reduce heat to medium.  Cook uncovered until potatoes are tender about 8-10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile sauté onion with leeks and thyme in butter on medium-high heat until golden and caramelized, stirring frequently (keep your eye on this and please inhale the aroma.  There is nothing like it!).  Process should take about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and add chives, tarragon, sour cream, and lemon juice.  Combine leek mixture with potatoes while both are still warm.  Break potatoes up gently with a wooden spoon (although a fork will do).  Cool mixture and season with salt and pepper (important to cool or else it may destroy the fragile phyllo dough, ripping it into an unworkable mess).  Add cheese and blend, leaving chunks of cheese in tact.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I used my trusty silpat mat) and brush 1 sheet of phyllo dough with olive oil (remember to keep other four sheets under a damp towel while you work and be careful, the dough really sticks together.  I know this from my baklava baking).  Turn phyllo with long side horizontally in front of you.  Lay remaining phyllo sheets on top of first, one at a time, brushing each sheet with oil (a little goes a long way).  Lay potato mixture along bottom edge of phyllo horizontally, leaving about 3.5 cm (1-1/2 in) on each side to tuck in strudel.  Brush strudel with egg white along edges to create a seal when baking.  Begin to roll strudel like a jelly roll away from you (be careful that the phyllo sheets are fairly in sync with one another as things could get messy).  After first turn, tuck edges in and continue to roll.  Brush strudel with olive oil and make three slits on the top.
Bake in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and flaky.  Remove and let stand 5 minutes.  Slice while still warm (to busy photographing)
Meanwhile, prepare sauce by sweating fennel in butter 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft.  Add tomato sauce.  Simmer, covered for 10 minutes until fennel is very tender.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add cream, if desired, (oh, I desire) and serve warm with strudel.

This was a delicious vegetarian treat.  I am not sure how it would taste with the blue cheese but in my opinion the feta was just too good to imagine anything but.  I would think the Rocquefort would dominate the quality of the other fine components.  I mean what is better than savoring the fine taste of leeks and onion sautéeing in butter, oh my!

[Potato, Leek and Feta Goat's Milk Strudel with Tomato Fennel Sauce]

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Comments

[Ana]

I love strudel and this recipe is a winner. I seldom watch TV and I do miss lots of cooking shows, but who needs them with blogs like yours?