Paul Kovi’s Poppy Seed Strudel

I have always loved poppy seed strudel,” says Paul Kovi, the Hungarian-born co-owner of the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City. “My mother was known to make the very best—really it was more of a candy than a strudel.”

You can enjoy Kovi’s mother’s strudel without his mother’s magic by making it with purchased phyllo dough. Sprinkling the dough with a mixture of bread crumbs and sugar incorporates a little air between the leaves, keeping them separate.