For many years my favorite café in Lisbon was Kaffeehaus in Chiado. I loved going there for a cup of coffee, which they always served in a silvery platter with a glass of water. Occasionally, I’d order their delicious vegetable strudel, made with a combination of potatoes, pumpkin, spinach and Feta cheese. I haven’t been there for quite a while and I’m not sure if they still serve it.

I tried to recreate their recipe once on my previous blog. I adapted it, making it with puff pastry and in the form of a galette instead of the traditional strudel log. But today I felt like tweaking it in a different way: I kept the structure of the strudel and spiced up the filling instead, by making a dry curry with a mild spice blend.

A couple of notes on this recipe

Although I used an egg and dairy free store-bought filo pastry, I opted to sautée the vegetables and brush the pastry sheets with ghee. You can make this completely plant-based by using either coconut or olive oil.

As for the spice blend, I’m a fan of Kate O’Donnell’s type of ayurvedic spice blends. She uses a mix of cumin, coriander and turmeric, and sometimes adds cinnamon, fennel and/or mustard seeds. Feel free to make your own or use your favorite curry blend, powdered preferably.

Curry Strudel

1 tsp ghee (or coconut oil)
2 tsp of your favorite spice blend
1 piece of ginger with 2cm, peeled and grated
400g of a combination of sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot, all peeled and roughly diced (about half a big sweet potato, a chunk of pumpkin and one carrot)
250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
2 big handfuls of fresh spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
20g (about 1/4 cup) desiccated coconut flakes
Zest of a lime
2 tbsp fresh coriander, very finely chopped
8 filo pastry sheets
Ghee or coconut oil, melted, for brushing the pastry sheets

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC. Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a medium frying pan and add the spice blend and ginger. Stir to combine and add the diced sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot. Sautée the vegetables and the spices over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat, add the coconut milk and let it cook for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and most of the coconut milk has evaporated. Add the spinach, stir and let them wilt. Season with salt and pepper and let it cool while you prepare the pastry sheets. In a small bowl combine the desiccated coconut, the lime zest and the chopped coriander. Place a sheet of baking paper on top a baking tray. Start layering the filo pastry sheets in the following way: 1 sheet + brush with melted ghee + 1 sheet + brush with ghee + sprinkle with the desiccated coconut mix. Repeat these steps 3 more times until you've used up all 8 filo pastry sheets. Spread the filling over the last sheet, leaving 8-10cm from one of the ends, and 5cm from the sides without it so that it's easier to roll and seal the strudel. Start rolling from the end that has the filling, fold both of the 5cm sides over the filling and continue to roll, like a spring roll, until you reach the other end. Alternatively, roll the dough and tuck the sides under the strudel once you reach the end. Brush that end with ghee to seal it, and generously brush the strudel with ghee before placing it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes and serve immediatly with a green salad and lime wedges.

Serves 4 as a light meal