Mushroom and Caramelized-Shallot Strudel

Note to self: If you want to end up in a straight jacket, keep putting phyllo dough recipes on the week's menu.

D doesn't do dough. I can't say I blame him. I buy already-made pie crusts, Boboli's instead of Pillsbury pizza dough, etc. Phyllo dough...I hate it. I wasn't really thinking about it when I saw this recipe.

I came home and D informed me I had to finish dinner. After throwing Phyllo on the floor, cussing him out, burning myself on a pot of boiling water for broccoli, cussing him out, breaking into tears, cussing him out, threatening to let the dog out the front door, cussing him out, throwing more phyllo on the floor and cussing him out, we finally got dinner made. It cooked much faster than 20 minutes. Luckily for the sake of my sanity, D checked on it periodically, so it didn't burn. Ours did look like the picture.

It was good, but not worth all that. Never making again. D informed me later that he had tried to work with the phyllo and a lot of it was thrown on the floor, and a lot of cussing had gone on while I was not there. This made me feel better. We had with broccoli. We each had 2 servings.

Mushroom and Caramelized-Shallot Strudel

This recipe makes two strudels; for an eye-catching centerpiece, place them on a large platter, and surround them with fresh thyme sprigs.
Yield: 2 strudels, 8 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced shallots (about 8 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon water

Photo by: Becky Luigart-Stayner;
Jen Rotenstreich

4 (8-ounce) packages presliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons dry Marsala or Madeira
2/3 cup low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed (more like half a box because 8 is all you have left after throwing it on the floor)
Cooking spray
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs, divided
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sugar; cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle with water; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until shallots are soft. Add mushrooms; cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat 20 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring frequently. Add Marsala; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and cool. Stir in sour cream, parsley, salt, thyme, and pepper.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board or work surface (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), and lightly coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons breadcrumbs. Repeat the layers with 3 phyllo sheets, cooking spray, and breadcrumbs, ending with the phyllo. Spoon 1 3/4 cups mushroom mixture along 1 long edge of phyllo, leaving a 1-inch border. Starting at the long edge with the 1-inch border, roll up jelly roll fashion. Place strudel, seam side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Tuck ends under. Repeat the procedure with the remaining phyllo sheets, cooking spray, breadcrumbs, and mushroom mixture. Brush strudels with butter. Bake strudels at 400° for 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut each strudel into 4 slices.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 176; Calories from fat: 28%; Fat: 5.5g; Saturated fat: 2.7g; Monounsaturated fat: 1.6g; Polyunsaturated fat: 0.5g; Protein: 7.4g; Carbohydrate: 24.9g; Fiber: 2.1g; Cholesterol: 11mg; Iron: 2.6mg; Sodium: 314mg; Calcium: 60mg

Cooking Light NOVEMBER 2001