Place chopped apples into a large frying pan (in one layer) with about 2 tablespoons oil and a pinch of salt all over the apples and sprinkle with the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and let them brown a little and flip to the other side. Sprinkle on top and let the apples cook down and toss till they get dark and caramelized and fully cooked but make sure they don’t burn, there should be very little to no liquid remaining in the pan. When caramelized, transfer to bowl.
In the meantime, take the peeled potatoes, cut up into smaller chunks, place in food processor and process until they look like chunky shards, not too small. Wipe out the same skillet you used for the apples.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of oil and press the potatoes into the bottom of the pan. Let cook on medium low for about 6-7 minutes and peek to see if browning. If so flip to other side (don’t worry if it’s falling apart it’s not meant to be a pancake) and continue cooking with a lid on or cover with tinfoil. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Let cool completely and add to the apples. I usually have sautéed or caramelized onions in my freezer ( I prepare them in big batches and freeze in ice cube trays) but if not, in the same pan, wipe out, add more oil and sauté your onion.
Let cool and in bowl with caramelized apples and potatoes add the onion. Stir together until well combined. Take a bite to check if you need a bit more salt.
Take your phyllo sheets and take 3 at a time, covering the remaining sheets with a lightly dampened towel so they don’t dry out. Oil spray or brush oil with pastry brush on each of the three sheets and stack one on top of the other. Trim edges if necessary. For nice sized purses, cut sheets in half so they are squareish. Now take a nice palmful of filling using a spoon and mound in the center of your phyllo square. Remember you have generously oil sprayed so take opposite ends of the squares and bring together pinching them shut and do this all around the pastry so it looks like a gathered pouch. Twist the top and oil spray the outside all over. Place on parchment paper lined rimmed baking tray. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Bake until golden brown about 25-30 minutes. Remember the filling is cooked so this is more about browning the layers of pastry. Serve majestically as a first course or as an amazing side dish. Suitable for your finest holiday meal. Interestingly, the filling almost tastes like there’s meat in it but this is vegetarian and actually vegan!