Strouilles à l'Italienne - "Sweet" Strudel

Strudel is normally thought of as an Austrian dish; bear in mind that Southern Austria is on the Northern Italian border and the Piedmont or foothills area of Northern Italy is a margin where ideas flowed both North and South.


Strouilles à l'Italienne - Sweet Strudel
Use the same paste* as that of the savory entrée and in the same way. After melting your butter, spread it on your paste well everywhere; make a preparation [combination of about 3 cups worth] of very thin slices or dices of apple, candied citron melons, green [limes] and yellow lemons, grapes of Corinth, raisins, sweet & bitter almonds, pistachios, pinions, all kinds of [sweet] ingredients of the office [cold kitchen or pantry] and spread all over the well-buttered pastry; roll it like that of the savory strudel, but buttering the top of the pasty as you roll it; place it on a tart plate like a snail, & put it in the oven to cook one hour & one-half [mine cooked 35-40 minutes--just until golden], basting it with butter three or four times while it cooks; once baked, glaze it [with frosting or sprinkle with powdered sugar] & serve.

*Rissolles Paste or Italian Pasta Dough
Make a paste with flour, egg whites, salt, & tepid water; knead it soft [until smooth for about 10 minutes] & let it rest below [covered by] a pan for 15 to 30 minutes; roll out in the manner the recipe directs.


OBSERVATIONS:
Be liberal with your melted butter, lots on the bottom before you add filling, and with each roll, brush the top of the dough with more butter. And don't forget to baste with butter several times during cooking.

This dough is amazingly stretchy--do not be afraid to roll it as thin as possible--if it tears stick it back together. I recommend rolling it as a very long rectangle and rolling it from the longest side--this will give you the longest «snail».

Modern tastes may find the addition of sugar and/or spices to the mixture to be a welcome choice.

Strouilles à l’Italienne.
C’est la même pâte** que celle d’entrée étendue de même; vous faites fonder du beurre; étant fondu, vous beurrez bien votre pâte par-tout; vous avez un appareil de filets de pommes, citrons vert & confits, raisins de Corinthe, gros raisins, amandes douce & ameres, des pistaches, pignons, toutes sortes d’ingrediens d’office, que vous mettez dans cette pâte bien beurrée, & l’étendez par-tout; étant faite, vous la roulez comme celle d’entrée, en la beurrant de tems en tems, vous la roulez sur une tourtiere comme un limaçon, & la mettez au four cuire une heure & demie, la frotter trios ou quatre fois de beurre pendant qu’elle cuit; étant cuite, la glacez & servez pour un plat.

**Pâte à Rissolles à l’Italienne
Vous faites une pâte avec farine, blancs d'œufs, sel, & de l'eau tiede; vous la faites molle & la laissez reposer dessous une casserolle, vous en servez de cette maniere.

Le Cuisinier Gascon. A Amsterdam. 1740, p.172.