Savory Strudel with Kale and Feta Cheese

I am a huge fan of strudel, it doesn't matter if it is sweet or savory. Everything about strudel is very special to me, and when we talk about savory one, I prefer it stuffed with Feta cheese and spinach. That is the best combination, proven so many times.


However, if you have garden full of kale for almost half of year like I do (it is very productive and long-lasting vegetable), you have to find a way to use it, so I decided to try it in strudel. Although I think there is too much hype about it, I do recognize kale if healthy and nutritious. Favorite soup in my family is Tuscan Soup with Kale and we have it at least 2-3 times monthly.

This year I planted two different kinds of kale: regular and purple one. Although they look different, the taste is pretty much the same. This vegetable is best when it's young (like on the pictures here) because baby kale is tender and not bitter.

The recipe below is for four rolls of strudel and that's a lot, but you can always freeze it, as my mom used to do it, or cut the amount of ingredients in half. This strudel is a good choice for breakfast or snack.

Savory Strudel with Kale and Feta Cheese

You need for the dough:

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup warm milk

1 cup warm water

1/2 oz active yeast

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

9 tablespoons melted butter

2 eggs

For filling:

1lb Feta cheese, crumbled

2 bunches of kale, stems removed and chopped

5 eggs

1 cup of Greek yogurt or Kefir
Salt and black pepper

1/2 stick of butter, melted

Baking pan, dimensions 13x9x2 inches, oiled

Steps:

Stir together flour, salt, sugar, yeast, melted butter and beaten eggs in a mixing bowl. Pour warm milk and water into the flour mixture. Mix everything with the spoon or in a food processor.

Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for about 10 min. Add more flour if needed.

Form dough in the round shape and put it in the lightly oiled large bowl to rise for 1 hour, to double its original size. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

In a bowl combine beaten eggs, crumbled Feta cheese, Greek yogurt, chopped kale and salt and black pepper to taste. You will use this as stuffing. 

Preheat the oven to 400F (205C).

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into four even pieces. Roll out each piece of dough with a rolling pin into rectangular shape that fits your baking pan. First brush the dough with melted butter, add 1/4 of stuffing over it, and fold the dough carefully into long roll. Place it in baking pan. Do the same with the rest of materials.

When you have all rolls placed in baking pan, brush their tops with melted butter. Let them rest for 15 minutes.

Bake strudel about 30 minutes, or until it gets nice golden-brown crust.

Serve with Kefir.