Pumpkin & Cheese Coiled Pastries

Boyos de kalavasa – rodanchas

For the Sephardim of Rhodes Island the Rosh Hashanah table is unimaginable without our iconic array of savory pastries, desayuno.

Pumpkin or butternut filo-like coiled pastries, boyos de kalavasa, are delectable with a medley of Greek cheese and warming spices of cinnamon and cloves. The distinctive coil or ‘rose’ shape, like the Turkish gül böreği, is said to have been symbolic of the ‘Island of Roses’, Isola de les Rose as the Italians called this beautiful island during their occupation from 1912.

Boyos de kalavasa, also known as rodanchas, are traditionally offered at the New Year table with toasted chopped almonds in the filling and dusted with confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon to auger a sweet year.

If making this age-old recipe with yeast seems daunting, for a quick and easier version you can use store-bought filo.

I hope you enjoy boyos de kalavasa at your festive New Year table. Kome kon gana – bon appetit!

Pumpkin and cheese filling:

2¼lb (1kg) pumpkin (or butternut, which I prefer using), peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks

1 tsp superfine (caster) sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

a pinch of ground cloves

1 cup grated sharp hard cheese, kefalotyri, kashkaval

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled

½ cup toasted almonds, chopped

1. Bring about 1½in (3.75cm) of water to the boil. Place the pumpkin/butternut chunks in a steaming basket inside the pot. Cover and let steam for about 30 minutes until tender. Drain in a colander, place the pumpkin in a clean tea towel and squeeze out excess liquid.

   
   

2. Put the cooked pumpkin in a bowl and mash (I like to use a potato ricer). Add the sugar, salt, spices, cheeses, almonds and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning.

   
   

Starter:

¼ tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

Dough:

· 3¼ cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

· a pinch of salt

· 2 tsp unsalted butter

· ½ cup warm water

· Mix ½ cup melted butter with ½ cup olive oil in a small bowl, for brushing and topping

· Mix ½ cup of flour with 1 tbsp grated sharp hard cheese, for sprinkling

· 2 tbsp confectioner’s (icing) sugar mixed with ½ tsp cinnamon, for dusting

· You will need: 1 rectangular dish, 12 x 9½in (30 x 24cm) with enough vegetable oil to cover 30 balls of dough

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in a small bowl. Stir, cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 5-10 minutes, until frothy.

   
   

2. Put 2½ cups flour with the salt in a large bowl. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the starter. Add the warm water and mix well until a sticky dough mass begins to form. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding a little flour if still sticky.

   
   

3. Divide the dough into 1oz (30g) pieces and roll each piece into smooth balls between your palms. Immerse the balls of dough into the prepared dish of oil for about 20 minutes.

   
   

4. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

   
   

5. Take one ball at a time, starting with the ones first placed in the oil and press between your palms to flatten. Place on a work surface and, with the fingertips of both hands, press the dough outwards as much as possible. Then, working around the flattened dough, gently lift and stretch the edges outwards with your fingertips until paper thin and about 12in (30cm) in diameter. Brush lightly with the melted butter and oil mixture and cut off any thick edges with a sharp knife and discard. Sprinkle with a little of the prepared flour and cheese mixture.

   
   

6. Spread about 2 tbsp of filling evenly along the bottom edge of the stretched dough. Roll gently into one long cylinder about 1in (2.5cm) in diameter. Then coil the roll into a spiral shape with the seam-side down.

   
   

7. Repeat until all the pastry and filling are used up.

   
   

8. Brush the tops lightly with the remaining butter and oil mixture and, using a small sieve, dust with the confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon mixture.

   
   

9. Transfer the filled pastries to the baking trays, leaving a little space between them. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.