Spring is here, the signs of life rejuvenation are popping up everywhere. It didn’t take longer than a week of warmer weather and the trees already reacted with a new growth covering their canopy. I already did my first seasonal weed picking in our backyard, they were spreading fast and wide, getting ready to take over. For now everything seems in order, but not to worry I know they will be back in no time. It takes 2-3 pickings for the season to fend off their persistent attempts to exert their authority.
Gratefully this is also part of the year where some of tasty and healthy nature gifts are available for picking and consumption. One of them being Wild Garlic (Sremus in Serbian), which also goes under bear garlic and many other names. It is a delicious gift from nature with many health benefits.
Now as always with mother nature, note of caution: you should know what you are doing before venturing into a forest, picking and placing something on your dinner plate! Namely you must be able to distinguish wild garlic from its highly toxic and poisonous forest comrades. The two most similar being Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) and Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis ) and be aware that consuming only couple of these “wrong leaves” could be fatal! You should go with an experienced picker and educate yourself on plant growth, its physical characteristics and only when you are confident and knowledgeable carefully observe and pick one leaf at the time. If you are unsure don’t do it!
On a bright side Wild Garlic is a great nature healer, credited with antibacterial, antibiotic properties and ability to lower blood pressure.
I love the taste of wild garlic in any form; be it as a simple green salad with little olive oil and squeezed lemon juice, chopped and fried with scrambled eggs, part of egg salad or as a phyllo pastry filling which is what I prepared today.
Phyllo pastries with fillings varying from wild garlic, young and tender nettle leaves, spinach, cheese, potatoes to ground meat are widely popular and enjoyed throughout Balkans. Pretty much every bakery carries at least few filling combinations of this delicacy.
Today’s recipe is with hand developed phyllo pastry, but it can be also made in somewhat simpler dough version as per my previous recipe Spinach and Feta Cheese Burek. Just substitute spinach with wild garlic as you also can substitute wild garlic with spinach in today’s recipe.
The recipe is pretty simple and although to inexperienced bakers the dough stretching might appear intimidating there is nothing to fear. Believe me it is very easy and I am positive that you can do it even if trying for the first time! Just gather together proper ingredients and follow the recipe. You will be rewarded with an amazing taste and pride for your accomplishment!
Lets do it!
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 550 g all purpose flour sifted, 12.8% or higher protein content
- 330 g filtered water lukewarm
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- vegetable oil for coating
- 200 g wild garlic washed, dried and chopped
- 300 g feta cheese crumbled
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbsp plain yogurt
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
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- In a medium size mixing bowl combine together sifted flour and salt, add lukewarm water. Mix until the dough is formed.
- Transfer the dough on a counter and knead for 10 minutes. Knead the dough vigorously by often throwing it and slapping on the counter surface. After about 10 minutes of kneading the dough will be soft, smooth and less stretchy. Use window pane test to confirm proper gluten development. Cover with plastic film and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Weigh and divide the dough into 4 equal parts, mine were about 215g each.
- On lightly dusted counter shape each dough part into a ball, cover with plastic film and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Using palms of your hands gently press the dough ball and make it into a disc, about 6-7" (15 cm) diameter. Pour a little vegetable oil on your palms and coat the dough disc thoroughly on both sides before placing it on a large plate.
- Repeat the same with remaining 3 balls and stack up all 4 discs on one large plate. Set aside, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes or until filling is prepared.
- Inspect, wash, dry and chop wild garlic leaves. Cut off hard stems.
- In a medium size mixing bowl add chopped wild garlic, crumbled feta, eggs, yogurt. Use your hands to mix until everything is fully incorporated. Divide the homogenous mass in the bowl into 4 approximately equal parts, set aside.
- Cover the kitchen table (mine is 40" x 50") with a clean cotton table cloth.
- Roll up the sleeves of your shirt up to the elbows, you will need your forearms for a next step. Take the first dough disc in your hands and place it on top of your two wrists. Spread the wrists apart for few inches, rotate the dough and gently start stretching. Observe how the dough reacts.
- Drape the dough from one from forearm to the other, rotating the dough hanging sides and allowing it to stretch by its own weight. Once the dough is stretched to about 3ft (~1 meter) diameter place it in the middle of the table cloth. Be careful and avoid creating folds in the dough since they will stick together. If it happens don't try to unstick it or obsess about it, just keep going. It might not look perfect, but it still can work out.
- You will notice that stretched middle dough section is already quite thin and outer ring is thicker, that is what we will stretch in the next phase. With your palms facing up and using just tips of your fingers gently pull the dough edge towards you. Do it in small increments after each pull you move forward for 4-5 inches, pull, move forward and so until you end up with enlarged dough and about 1/2" (15 mm) wide dough ribbon around the perimeter. This ribbon will be also stretched in small increments but now grab it between the thumb and the first two fingers of each hand before you pull. While pulling keep your knuckles low almost touching the table cloth.
- As you recall we divided garlic filling into 4 equal parts, now take one of those parts and divide in half. Each half will be used to fill the stretched dough along each of 2 opposite dough edges. My table is oval so I filled the dough just along straight sections, each edge is about 35-40" long. Other two dough sides (table round ends) just fold in making a rectangle with filled edges.
- Drape over and cover the filling with stretched dough along the two edges. Lift up the table cloth and let the dough with filling roll up to the middle of the table. Repeat the same from the other side.
- Use knife to separate the two rolls. Coil each roll into lightly oiled 16" (40 cm) round baking pan. Start from the middle and just keep adding as you develop new rolls.
- Repeat the whole process again with another 3 dough discs and remaining filling.
- Brush the top of the coiled pastry with vegetable oil.
- Pre- warm the oven to 250ºC (480ºF) with the rack in the middle.
- Bake for 17-20 min or until golden brown crust is formed. Serve warm.
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