Three Cheese Mushroom Strudel

Yummy, rich, cheesy and wrapped in crispy phyllo, pretty much heaven!  It all started with a large container of dried mushrooms that I got, in a roundabout way, at Costco.   The funny part is that a friend bought them and had them or a month or so, and couldn't figure out what to do with them… her solution?  …Give it to me to figure out!  What the heck am I going to do with them now?  ***Note, even though I used these dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms work exactly the same!

The funny part is… I am not even that big of a mushroom fan!  I eat them and all, but I would never lust after them like some big mushroom fans do.  I do like anything baked in Phyllo dough though… I mean who wouldn’t?  It’s crispy, flakey, buttery and delicious, AND easy to make.  Ha, I know you don’t believe me, but once you’ve tried this, you’ll be wrapping everything in Phyllo dough. This mushroom filling is incredible... I was hoping for leftovers to do something else with.... anything else!!!

Phyllo is Greek pastry in super thin sheets, and you find it in the freezer section, probably by the frozen pies, puff pastry kinda spot. It costs about $4-$5 but you can make a lot with one box and it does keep for a couple of weeks if it’s well wrapped. It’s thaws pretty quickly, but I would recommend that you thaw it in the fridge overnight…. Even though I bought it the morning I needed it, so I left it on the counter until I started cooking. This recipe makes two strudels, but if you only need one, you can freeze one of them after you make it, but before you bake it.  Got it?

What?  You don’t know what a strudel is???  Stayed tuned, you’ll see.

Makes 2-3 strudels

 Ingredients

Dried Mushrooms, soaked in hot water then chopped, about 3-4 cups 

OR

2lb fresh mushrooms, chopped, to equal about 3-4 cups

1 onion, diced and sautéed
3 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 oz goat cheese, or cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 cup gouda, grated

2 tsp thyme, dried, or 1 tsp fresh thyme

Salt & Pepper

Fresh parsley

½ package of phyllo dough

2 sticks of butter, melted and cooled

Rinse, then soak the mushrooms in hot water for about 5 minutes, drain (reserving the broth for something… like soup) and then chop. I used the food processor to chop everything for the recipe... onions, garlic, parsley and mushrooms. 

In a sauté pan, add the olive oil and sauté the onions. Add the chopped mushrooms and the garlic cooking for 2-3 more minutes.  Add the cheeses and mix well. Add parsley, thyme,salt and pepper and make sure it tastes yummy at this stage. Cool.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, unless you are making these ahead of time and chilling or freezing. 

Melt your butter in a large pyrex in the microwave for 60-90 seconds.  Find you pastry brush, you need one to brush butter between the layers of phyllo dough.

On a large cutting board, or clean counter, unroll the thawed phyllo dough and taking 2 sheets off and laying it in front of you.  COVER the remaining phyllo with a dish towel while you work, this stuff dries out quickly.  Brush butter over the entire sheet of phyllo, add 2 more sheets, more butter, 2 more sheets.  Eight sheets total should do it.

With the long end towards you, add TWO nice logs of the filling in a 2” section, cut the dough down the middle lengthwise,  Tuck in the short ends about 1 1/2” (think burrito…) and roll into a strudel, seam side DOWN.  This will create two long, narrow logs of mushroom filled phyllo dough just waiting to be baked. Brush the top with melted butter after you put them on a pan.
I used a "silpat' silcome matt to keep it from sticking, I love mine and use them all the time.  They can be anywhere from $10-$20 for them, and well worth the price.

At this point, you could put this in the fridge, or you put in the freezer. 

Bake at 400 degrees for about 22-25 minutes.  It will be light brown and crispy looking.  Don't worry if some of the phyllo cracks, that's what it does. You CAN bake a frozen strudel, it works pretty well, but might need about 2-3 more minutes.

 

Slice with a serrated knife, gently slicing into pieces.  Expect it to be a bit messy...
This could be an appetizer or a light dinner with a green salad.

Leftover filling?
If you have leftover filling and phyllo, here is another what to wrap it up.  Called Spanokopita when you do this shape with a spinach, feta filling, it's a nice little packet that is easier to eat.  I made both for a group of glas last night, and I think we agreed that we liked the strudel best because it had a more intense filling "hit" of flavor.  Still this is a nice way to have appetizers without the mess of slicing the phyllo. 
***Note, I did something a bit silly and did mine the "Long" way on the phyllo and it makes BETTER sense to do short rows of the pastries.  You should get 6 pastries per sheets if you cut, then fold the short way.

Take two sheets of phyllo, butter the entire top sheet.  Cut into 6 rows (OPPOSITE way that I show...) and dab a bit tablespoon of filling at the top of each row. Fold the first fold diagonal and flip flop your way down the row, just like folding a FLAG! This effectively encases the filling completely in the filling. Bake for about 16-18 minutes, until they are a golden brown and flaky.

 

Carmelized Green Onions, Tomatoes & Zucchini

Maybe this isn't the sexiest food blog post, but it is a really great vegetable side dish that is easy to make. We had it with baked salmon last night, since sometimes we try to eat lightly and super healthy!

I remember the first time my oldest sister told me she "fried onions" for a side dish.... "and?" I said, waiting for whatever else she added to this base ingredient.  "No, just green onions"- - I thought it was a crazy idea until I tried it.  I realize that I have just changed a recipe that I just said was good, but this dish is great too. I figure once I tell you about it, you could just saute up 2-3 bunches of green onions if you like it with tomatoes and zucchini!  Get it?

Serves 2-6 people depending on how much you like veggies!
We got 3 servings, 2 big dinner portions and a nice lunch leftover.***

Ingredients:
1 small box cherry tomatoes
2 small zucchini
1 bunch of green onions
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Chopped parsley (option)
Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper

First, cut up ALL your veggies like shown.  I cut the green onions in about 1 1/2" pieces, the zucchini in half lengthwise, and then on the diagonal (but rounds work too!) and I cut the cherry tomatoes in half, but whole works too!

Over medium high heat, add oil to a skillet.  I use stainless steel because I think it caramelizes better, but a non-stick pan would work (and it would be easier to clean too!).  Add the green onions and saute, stirring, as you will see they pick up some color pretty quick.

After they start to pick up some nice color, add the tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes. 

Immediately add the zucchini and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until you like the doneness of the zucchini. I like it still firm!

***Note about leftovers, I combined them with the leftover quinoa that I had in the fridge from the other night, plus the half of salmon I didn't eat. Squeezed some lemon on the whole thing and tossed with more seasoning salt and pepper.  My lunch is ready...