RICOTTA AND CHERRY STRUDEL

Steps:

• The dough
• Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl. Drizzle olive oil over; toss with flour. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons water over, 1 tablespoon at a time; mix in with fork (small clumps will form). Knead mixture in bowl until dough comes together and is pliable, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Turn dough out onto work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour to work surface only if dough is sticky, about 6 minutes. Flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill overnight. DO AHEAD Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before rolling.
• The filling
• The strudel dough is sprinkled with a breadcrumb mixture and topped with drained ricotta cheese and drained cherries. The remaining cherries and juices are turned into a cherry sauce.
• Breadcrumb Mixture
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs; stir constantly until light golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 6 tablespoons sugar; cool.
• Ricotta filling
• 1. Line large strainer with double layer of cheesecloth; set over deep bowl. Place ricotta cheese in strainer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (liquid will drain from cheese; discard liquid). Transfer cheese to clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
• 2. Using electric mixer, beat 1 3/4 cups sugar and 3 tablespoons butter in medium bowl. Add eggs, 1 at a time; beat until smooth and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Add drained ricotta, lemon peel, orange peel, and vanilla; beat just until blended. Refrigerate filling while preparing cherries and rolling out dough.
• Cherries
• 1. Stir drained cherries and 11/2 cups reserved juices, 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, and liqueur in medium bowl; set aside at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• 2. Drain cherry mixture, reserving liquid. Place 2 cups cherries on layers of paper towels; reserve remaining 1 cup cherries for sauce.
• 3. Transfer reserved cherry liquid to small saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Stir in reserved 1 cup cherries. Cool sauce completely.
• Putting it together
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush 18x12-inch rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in small saucepan and set aside. Lightly flour large work surface. Using long rolling pin, roll out dough from center to edges into 22x17-inch thin rectangle with 1 long side parallel to work surface (dough will resist and retract slightly).
• Pull and stretch
• As dough gets thinner, very gently pull and stretch dough into 22x17-inch rectangle (dough need not form perfect rectangle and may tear slightly in spots). Slide long kitchen towel 4 inches under long edge of dough farthest from you so strudel can be transferred to baking sheet more easily when filled.
• Brush dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over dough, leaving 1 1/2-inch border on all sides. Starting at long side closest to you, about 2 inches from edge of dough, spoon ricotta mixture lengthwise in 3-inch-wide log, leaving 3-inch plain border on short sides. Press 2 cups drained cherries lightly into top of ricotta mixture, spacing evenly.
• Roll up
• Starting at long side closest to you, fold up dough over filling. Gradually roll up strudel, enclosing filling completely. Fold short ends of dough under; pinch to seal.
• Transfer
• using towel as aid, transfer strudel to prepared baking sheet, seam side down and bending into crescent or horseshoe to fit sheet. Brush 2 tablespoons melted butter over strudel. Cut several 1-inch-long 1/8-inch-deep slits along top.
• Place strudel in oven; reduce temperature to 375°F. Bake until firm and light golden, about 1 hour 10 minutes (strudel may crack and juices may spill onto sheet). Run thin knife under strudel to loosen. Cool on sheet. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• Strudel Shortcut
• No time for making dough? Follow recipe as directed but replace the strudel dough with purchased thawed frozen phyllo sheets. You will need 32 thawed frozen phyllo sheets (14x9-inch size) from one 16-ounce package and 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted. Place large kitchen towel on work surface. Slightly overlap four 14x9-inch phyllo sheets, forming 22x17-inch rectangle atop towel. Brush with butter. Repeat 7 more times with remaining phyllo and butter, forming 8 layers total. Assemble as directed with prepared breadcrumb mixture, ricotta filling, and cherries. Roll up strudel; brush with butter. Bake at 375°F until phyllo is golden, about 1 hour.