“Pumpkin pie or strudel”
I saw pumpkins on the market for the first time this year yesterday and couldn’t resist buying one to make pumpkin pie; one of my favourite pies, I must confess. I usually make a open pie with a kind of pate brisee base and a pastry lattice on top, filled with chunks of steamed pumpkin sautéed in butter and sugar and seasoned with orange peel and almond, and I’m sure I’ll be making one of those at some point this autumn as pumpkins are cheap and readily available for the next month or two. This time however, I deferred to Ms RomFoody’s grandma’s recipe so I would have something to put on my blog. She also made it, so that just left me to write it up, take a picture, and get down to the serious task of eating as many slices as possible!
Time: 90 mins
Servings: 20 slices
Ingredients:
1 pumpkin (probably just under 2kg before peeling and deseeding)
1 ½ cups of sugar, plus a little more for sprinkling on top
3 little packets of vanilla sugar (about 25g)
1 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 packet of phyllo pastry (15 sheets) (15 ‘foi de placinta’)
A knob of softened butter
A drizzle of sunflower oil
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to about 200-210C.
2. Remove the skin of the pumpkin, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds, and then grate it into a large bowl.
3. Add the two types of sugar and the spices to the pumpkin and mix well.
4. Lay out the phyllo sheets on a flat surface, spoon about a fifth of the pumpkin mixture out onto the top sheet and spread it in an even layer. Then lift up 3 sheets and roll them up from the longer side. Transfer to a baking sheet/tray lined with baking paper. Repeat four more times. The rolls can be placed closely together.
5. Spread the butter over the top and drizzle on the oil, and then sprinkle with sugar.
6. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cut each roll into four and serve when cooled. You can also dust them with icing sugar.
7 comments:
I love these recipes. This one in particular looks delicious. I am sure I will be cooking it really soon. I love them beause the have few ingredients and they are easy to make. This one has a very long preparation time. The recipie states 90 minutes but i am sure It will take me more than 2 hours. Thanks to this blog Romanian Translationof recipes is no longer needed
Question for grandma (or you)...
My other Romanian friend boils her pumpkin first on the stove top. Then let’s it cool. Then adds it to the phyllo dough and then bakes it. I love that you have this blog. I just discovered it.
My family is from Romania too and we grew up with delicious and healthy food in the house daily. Because everyone in the country had fresh grown tomatoes and made their own moonshine so food on the table is fresh and homemade, no junk food or fast food. I can’t wait to learn some of these recipes and continue to expand my culinary talents. Please ask grandma about boiling the pumpkin first versus baking it raw. Or if you’ve tried it both ways yourself, maybe you have an opinion. Thanks!
Hi there and thanks for the visit!
The method in the recipe is just one of a plethora of ways it can be cooked and I'm sure each of them produces delicious results! Another way I prepare the filling (and to be honest, my preferred way, although I don't know if it's particularly traditional, hence why I stuck to the above method) is to steam cubes (about a cubic inch) of pumpkin over a pan of boiled water to soften it. I think this stops flavour/colour leaching out into the boiling water. After it's softened, I finish it off in a pan with butter, sugar and sometimes a little fresh ginger to give it a zing.
Pofta mare!
Where would i be able to find the phyllo dough, most of the stuff out here is Pepperidge farm or the big puff pastry type. What brand do you use?
Where would i be able to find the phyllo dough, most of the stuff out here is Pepperidge farm or the big puff pastry type. What brand do you use?
Phyllo pastry is in every supermarket here (Romania) and there are a few brands. Can't say I've notice any significant difference in end result between them. I see Pepperidge is a US brand so I assume that's where you're based. Unfortunately I have no idea about brands there, but it looks like there are some differences in terminology - some brands seem to be (judging by the pics) more like sheets of puff pastry. The stuff we use here doesn't 'puff' up, they are literally paper-thin sheets of pastry they you layer up with filling in between them, like the stuff commonly used for strudel and baclava. If you have a Turkish or Greek grocery store near you, you could try asking there.
Can’t wait to try the pumpkin. We grew up with our Romanian grandmother (Maica) making her own dough and filling it with apple and also with cheese. I had the pumpkin on a few occasions and looking forward to making it myself.
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