Strudel Patagónico

Patagonian apple strudel with walnuts and cinnamon, as made in the Andean lake district

Origin: Río Negro & Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina

From the journey of Apple.

In the Andean lake district of Argentine Patagonia (along the road that runs south from Bariloche through Villa La Angostura to San Martín de los Andes), the tea-houses and mountain confiterías are as much a feature of the landscape as the cypress forests and steel-grey glacial lakes. This is German Patagonia: the descendants of German, Swiss, and Austrian settlers who arrived in the 1880s and 1890s, finding in the Río Negro and Neuquén valleys a terrain and climate that echoed the apple country of Bavaria and the Tyrol. They planted European apple varieties that thrived in the volcanic soils and cold Andean winters, establishing orchards that made this valley the primary apple-growing region of South America. In their kitchens, the German Apfelstrudel arrived in Patagonia and took root as completely as the apple trees themselves. The strudel patagónico is made using filo pastry rather than the hand-stretched dough of the original (a practical adaptation widely adopted across the lake district), filled with local apples, Patagonian walnuts, cinnamon, and raisins. It is served warm, with a dusting of icing sugar and a pot of mate or bitter mountain herb tea, in confiterías where the window looks out onto mountains and glaciers.

Ingredients

Pastry

6 sheets filo pastry, thawed if frozen
80 g unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp fine dry breadcrumbs

Filling

800 g apples (Granny Smith or Río Negro varieties), peeled, cored and cut into 1 cm slices
80 g caster sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
80 g raisins
80 g walnuts, roughly chopped
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 pinch fine sea salt

To Finish

2 tbsp icing sugar, to dust
crème fraîche or plain yoghurt, to serve

Method

Prepare the filling: combine the sliced apples with the sugar, cinnamon, raisins, walnuts, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl. Toss well and leave to macerate for 15 minutes. The apples will release some juice: drain off any excess liquid before assembling, or the filo base will become soggy.
Heat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / gas 5. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
Lay one sheet of filo on a clean, dry work surface with the long edge facing you. Brush all over with melted butter. Lay a second sheet directly on top, brush with butter, then repeat with a third sheet. Scatter half the breadcrumbs evenly over the top filo sheet: the breadcrumbs absorb apple moisture and keep the pastry crisp.
Spoon the drained apple filling along the long edge nearest to you, leaving a 4 cm border at each short end. Fold in the short ends over the filling, then roll the strudel away from you into a tight log, pulling the parchment as a guide if needed. Transfer, seam-side down, to the lined baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining 3 filo sheets, breadcrumbs, and any remaining filling to make a second strudel, or make one large, layered strudel using all 6 sheets.
Brush the top of the strudel generously with the remaining melted butter. Score the top lightly with a sharp knife at 3 cm intervals: this prevents the pastry cracking when sliced at the table.
Bake for 30–35 minutes until the pastry is deep golden and the filling is bubbling at the scored cuts. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before dusting heavily with icing sugar and slicing at the scoring marks.

Notes

Patagonian apple varieties from the Río Negro valley (Manzana Roja del Alto Valle, Rome Beauty, or Granny Smith) are ideal; any firm tart apple works well. Traditional confitería versions sometimes add a tablespoon of dark rum or aguardiente to the filling. Strudel patagónico is served in Patagonian tea-houses with bitter mate or herbal tea, rarely with coffee.

The Gastrographer

Name: Strudel Patagónico
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Argentina
Ingredients: 6 sheets filo pastry, thawed if frozen; 80 g unsalted butter, melted; 3 tbsp fine dry breadcrumbs; 800 g apples (Granny Smith or Río Negro varieties), peeled, cored and cut into 1 cm slices; 80 g caster sugar; 1½ tsp ground cinnamon; 80 g raisins; 80 g walnuts, roughly chopped; 1 lemon, zest and juice; 1 pinch fine sea salt; 2 tbsp icing sugar, to dust; crème fraîche or plain yoghurt, to serve

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control