Sweet Potato, Red Pepper & Feta Strudel

Today’s post completes a hat-trick of savoury vegetarian Strudels, with my third and final filling mix.

This one is beautifully rich in colour and taste, with the bright orange and red of roasted sweet potato and red pepper peeping through the arms of the puff pastry lattice work. Cubes of feta cheese add contrast and a little saltiness. There’ll be enough here for a midweek meal for two.

For a recap on the others, check out Spicy Veg Strudel and Leek, Stilton & Walnut Strudel.

As with my previous Strudel recipes, the filling is pretty easy to put together. Put 2 – 3 medium size sweet potatoes on a roasting tray. Chop half a red pepper into 4 – 5 large pieces and place alongside the sweet potatoes. Drizzle the red pepper pieces with a little oil, and roast in the oven at 180C for 25 mins.

Once roasted, split the sweet potatoes with a knife and scrape the soft orange flesh into a bowl. Chop the red pepper (which should now be soft and a little charred at the edges) into smaller pieces and add to the sweet potato. Give it a stir to mix it up, and leave to cool. When cooled, add in 100g feta cheese, cubed or crumbled, and stir again to mix.

Prepare 250g of ready made puff pastry as shown in the photos in Spicy Veg Strudel, this time using the sweet potato, pepper and feta mix to fill. Roll up the lattice as shown in those photos and, as with the other Strudels, baste with milk and sprinkle over some nigella seeds. Bake for 25 mins at 180C.

Cut into slices of your chosen size, and serve. The Strudel can be eaten warm or cold, perhaps with a green salad or your favourite green veg.

All these references to lattice in my last few posts has been reminding me of the line ” ..crawling the tightrope along the lattice work..” from a track I’ve always admired. It’s a song about a woman who tends a mysterious garden where the sun doesn’t fall, yet the plants flourish, and where the animals are afraid to go. The chorus is “magic in her hands, she could make anything grow, magic in her hands, she had green fingers”.

In another curious twist of poetic symmetry, the artist herself has recently returned to playing live after some 15 years away from the stage, which is a joy to see.

It could only be from one person, really, so here’s a track for the ADK Playlist for any goths out there. This is Siouxsie and the Banshees with Green Fingers.

https://open.spotify.com/track/3bwffGHk0FPYKkFpvPovCU?si=0db0445784e14e4f