Featured in: The Great (Jewish) Pumpkin
Sweet Pumpkin Pastries
November 10, 2023
Julie Legrand
These delicious, coiled filo pastries—called rodantikes—are traditionally made by Sephardic Jews from Greece for Sukkot. They can be sweet or savory. Some recipes include feta and kefalotyri cheese, others add chopped almonds or walnuts. Sometimes the pastries are soaked in sugar syrup, but I prefer them lightly dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
Ingredients
- 1 ½lbs pumpkin flesh, cut into 1-inch dice
- ¼cup caster sugar
- ½tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
- ¼tsp ground cardamom
- grating of nutmeg
- pinch cloves
- 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for brushing
- 8 to 10sheets fresh or thawed filo pastry
Yield: 8 to 10 pastries
Preparation
- Step 1
To make the filling, steam the pumpkin for 10 minutes or until tender. Place in a mixing bowl and mash with a potato ricer, or puree in a food processor. Transfer to a saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very thick. Remove from the heat, then stir in the sugar, 1 tablespoon olive oil and spices and blend well.
- Step 2
Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a clean cloth, with the longer side facing you, and brush lightly with olive oil. Spoon a line of filling along the long side of the pastry, just inside the edge. Fold the pastry over the filling, then roll into a long thin log, brushing lightly with olive oil as you go. Take hold of one end of the log and loosely roll it up like a snake, taking care not to tear the pastry. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.
- Step 3
Arrange the coils side by side on a well-oiled shallow baking sheet and brush the tops lightly with oil, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar and serve.