My husband
and I try to eat vegetarian a few times a month, (which is impressive since my
husband is from Omaha, Nebraska, where steak rules all). Generally, we will
have bean and cheese burritos, or a big salad, or soup. Recently, I stumbled on
this delicious strudel, and I did not miss the meat at all. Not to mention, I
will take bread and cheese over meat any day. (I should just move to Paris and
get one of those bicycles with the basket in front so I can load it up with baguettes,
cheese, chocolate and coffee and then bicycle to my little French loft and go “le
crazy”…all while wearing a beret, of course). Anyway…this strudel looks very
impressive when it’s finished, and is substantial enough to make a complete
meal. If you absolutely MUST have meat at every meal, you could chop up some
pepperoni or Italian sausage and toss it in. However, I DARE you to try it
vegetarian just once, and then decide.
Tuscan Artichoke and Spinach Strudel
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups chopped baby Portobello mushrooms
1/3 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
4 tsp. oil from tomatoes, divided
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 tbsp. pesto
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped artichoke hearts
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup parmesan, divided
8 oz. tube reduced-fat crescent rolls
1 egg
3 tbsp. finely chopped walnuts
Steps:
1. Saute
mushrooms and tomatoes in 2 tsp. of oil from sun-dried tomatoes until tender.
Cool.
2. In a
large bowl, combine spinach, pesto, and pepper. Add artichokes, mozzarella, 5
tbsp. parmesan, and cooled mushroom mixture. Mix well.
3. Unroll
crescent dough onto lightly greased baking pan. Seal perforations and roll out
into a 14x9 rectangle.
4. Spread
filling in a 3-inch wide strip down the dough. On each long side, cut 1 inch
wide strips to within a ½ inch of filling.
5. Starting
at one end, alternate folding strips at an angle across filling.
6. Whisk
egg and remaining oil and brush over pastry. Sprinkle with walnuts.
7. Bake
20 minutes at 350. Remove, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and bake 10 more
minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing.
