That's a Wrap!

Hah-I'm so clever. Last night was Rolled Foods Night. We stuffed and rolled a variety of foods, such as cabbage leaves, collard greens, nori, grape leaves, phyllo dough and wonton wrappers. The technique was fun to practice, and made for beautiful presentation. Below is an awesome recipe that the whole class enjoyed. The main ingredient is arame, which is a seaweed that resembles strands of yarn (in my opinion). It is available at many specialty/health-food stores or from a variety of on-line purveyors. When cooked with the sweet ingredients found in this recipe, the result is a sweet, salty, savory, and just basically well-balanced entree.

Arame Strudel: Yields 3 Servings
4 ounces arame, soaked 15 minutes and drained
4 Tbsp sesame oil
1 quart water (approx.)
6 Tbsp shoyu
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (could also probably substitute honey)
2 to 3 Tbsp mirin (or apple cider)
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 med onion, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, grated or cut into thin matchsticks
salt, to taste
1 lb phyllo

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a skillet, saute arame in 2 Tbsp sesame oil for 3-5 minutes. Add water to skillet covering arame 3/4 of the way, and bring to a boil with the lid slightly ajar. Reduce until the liquid has evaporated. Stir in shoyu, brown rice syrup, mirin and ginger. Reduce until arame is dry.
2. In another skillet, saute carrots, onion and salt in 1 Tbsp sesame oil until cooked.
3. On a sheet of parchment paper, stack 5 sheets of phyllo, brushing each individual sheet lightly with the remaining sesame oil. Spoon 1/3 of both the arame mixture and carrot-onion mixture down the long side of the phyllo stack. Using the parchment paper, firmly roll the strudel into a log. Repeat with remaining phyllo.
4. Place strudels on a sheet pan. Score lightly with a knife about every inch or 2, but be careful not to cut too deep (this will help with the cutting of the strudel). Bake approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly, slice along scored lines and serve.


Again, this recipe was delicious. It also incorporates seaweed, which is very high in vitamins and minerals and is just all-around good for you. Hope you enjoy making and eating it!

By the way, sorry for not posting many recipes this week. I've been too busy with work and what-not to even cook! Next week will be hopefully be much better for delicious recipe-sharing.