Anna Getty’s Eco Holiday Fare
Forget the run-of-the-mill pine boughs; put a holiday altar on your mantle. Photo: Ron Hamad for Chronicle Books. Part Two of Four.
What does it take to create an eco-friendly holiday? Last week our green holiday guru Anna Getty gave us the scoop on her favorite holiday cocktail. This week, she shares a Getty family holiday recipe that’s too good to pass up!
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff: Now that you’ve moved to Italy, are there any new traditions you’ve discovered? Anything you wish you’d included in the Green Christmas book?
Anna Getty: Since we’ve been here, I’ve been home schooling my daughter using the Waldorf method. We create these altars that are dedicated to the seasons. We did an autumn altar where we went out into the woods and collected pinecones and leaves—we’ll do the same thing for winter. It’s so much fun! I had Dante [Anna’s year-old son] in a Baby Bjorn and we walked around and collected things in a basket.
I would have included that in the book in terms of creating a holiday altar. You can have it as a centerpiece in your dining room, or in the front hall—put it on a tray so you can move it around. Put candles in it. Add old ornaments and baubles. Take a picture—every year it will be different. And afterwards it goes outside and can all be composted.
RLS: I love that idea! So beautiful and sustainable—and totally doable. Let’s move on to the most important element of the season: food. What’s your favorite holiday recipe?
AG: Probably apple strudel. We eat it a lot at home, and it always seemed really complicated. But I made it really simple: You just take your muffin tins and lay in pieces of filo dough and make this apple mixture, then a bread crumb mixture—it’s so easy to do! And it’s great for parties—you can make miniature bite-sized ones with mini muffin tins. It’s sustainable because you’re using organic apples in season. I love anything that’s seasonal—pomegranate seeds and figs, persimmons and butternut squash. You don’t want to be making a banana cream pie in winter. With sustainable food, it’s really about diving into seasonal produce.
Anna’s scrummie holiday strudel; recipe below. Photo: Ron Hamad for Chronicle Books.
Anna Getty’s Mini Apple Strudels with Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
[Editor’s note: All ingredients are locally sourced, organic and fair-trade whenever possible, of course!]
For the Crumble
1/2 cup/65g chopped walnuts
1/4/55g cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon graham cracker crumbs
Pinch salt
For the Filling
4 medium Fuji apples, cored and cut into 1/4-inch/6.5-mm cubes, about 3 cups/550g cubed
Juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1/3 cup/90g currants
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Strudel
4 to 5 sheets phyllo dough, cut into 3-1/2-inch/9-cm squares (will be 6 to 8 squares per sheet)
1/2 cup/110g unsalted butter, melted
For the Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
1-1/2 cups/375 ml whipping cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Serves 6 to 8
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C (Gas Mark 4). Spray 6 to 8 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Make the crumble topping: Combine the walnuts, brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a fine crumb forms. Set aside.
3. Make the filling: In a medium bowl combine the apples, lemon juice, currants, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and mix thoroughly. Melt the 1-1/2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the apple mixture. Cook the apples until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Lightly brush each sheet of phyllo with the melted butter. Divide the sheets evenly into the prepared muffin cups. Each strudel should have 4 to 5 layers of phyllo.
5. Divide half the crumble in each muffin cup and then top with the apple mixture. Top with the remaining crumble and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until phyllo and crumble are brown.
6. Prepare the Brown Sugar Whipped Cream: Place a mixing bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 15 minutes. Pour the cream and sugar and vanilla extract into the chilled bowl and whip on high speed until soft peaks form. Serve the strudel warm with a dollop of whipped cream.
Need a break? Make Anna’s favorite holiday cocktail; recipe featured last week. For a great holiday craft to hang on your door, check back here next week!
