We can call these rolls the poor men’s strudel because in lean years when poppy seeds and walnuts were not avaible or people couldn’t afford them, potato was the cheapest choice to have strudel.
This strudel is filled with – despite expectations – a sweet mixture of mashed potatoes, eggs, sugar and vanilla, which is topped with some sour cream before rolling up.
You can save some work by using a store-bought phyllo dough instead of making your own strudel dough. If you decide on homemade dough, you can use this recipe, just decrease the quantities to about one-third of the original amounts.
Ingredients:
- 9 phyllo sheets
- 1 kg (~2 1/4 lbs) potatoes
- 2 eggs
- 3+4 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 heaping tbsp sour cream
- 5-6 tbsp oil or melted lard
Peel and dice the potatoes and cook them in a pot of mildly salted water until they are soft enough to break up when pressed with a fork.
Once the potatoes are done, drain them in a colander, then mash them with a potato ricer. Add 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and vanilla extract to the mashed potatoes and mix until well combined. Set aside and let it cool until lukewarm.
Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Add 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar to the egg whites and whip until stiff peaks form. Add egg yolks to the sweetened potatoes and whisk together. Finally gently fold in the egg white foam.
Brush 3 phyllo sheets with a light coating of oil or melted lard and stack them on top of each other. Place one-third of the filling along the short side of the sheets, then spoon some sour cream on top of the potato mixture. Turn in the ends and roll the filling into the sheets until a roll is formed. Transfer the strudel on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Repeat the process with the remaining 6 phyllo sheets and filling until you get 3 potato strudel rolls. Brush the top of the rolls with oil or melted lard and bake them in an oven preheated to 190°C / 374°F for 20-25 minutes or until the strudels turn golden brown.
