Fancy Phyllo Pastry?

It’s light, its versatile, its elegant and most of all it makes your dish look like something out of a magazine!  Yup, thats phyllo pastry for you!

Recently I’ve been unindated with queries on how to use it and what it can be used for and so decided to post a few of my favourite recipes.  I’ll also be doing a class on “working with phyllo pastry” so keep a watchful eye out for the pictures and reports on that!

Camembert Phyllo pastry with Cranberry Sauce in Basil Leaves

1 roll ready made phyllo pastry

butter melted for spreading

2x camembert cut into quaters

1 jar cranberry sauce

1bunch basil leaves

To make:

1. Remove your sheet of phyllo pastry, brush the one half with melted butter and fold over once.  Then fold over again and cut in half.
2. Brush the one side of the pastry, place the other piece across it.
3. Place the quarter of camembert in the centre of the pastry and as a parcel twist all corners together sealing the pastry.
4. bake for 15 -20min on 180 degrees.
5. When done tie a piece of spring onion or chives around it for decoration.  Place in the centre of a plate with a small amount of cranberry sauce underneath to hold it in its place and decorate the plate with basil leaves and a teaspoon of cranberry sauce in each.
6. Serve!

Butternut and Pecan Parcels

1 roll ready made phyllo pastry

butter for brushing

500g chopped butternut

1 cup roasted pecans

1/2 tsp cinamon

30g brown sugar

salt and black pepper

olive oil

To make:

1. Combine all the spices and sugar together.
2. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for approximately 25min
3. Place the roasted butternut in a bowl with the roughly broken roasted nuts and mash / mix well
4. Now take a sheet of phyllo pastry and cut into 4 equal squares.  Using 3 of the cut pieces brush two of them and place them on top of each other in a star shape.  Using a muffin, gently place the pastry in each holder, and brush with butter.
5. Now spoon a healthy helping of butternut mix into each pastry cup and bake for 15min on 180 degrees.
6. Remove and garnish with chopped chives and serve!

Chicken Phyllo Parcels (one of my all time favourites!)

4 Deboned chicken breasts

Basil OR sundried tomato pesto

Lean back bacon

Mozzarella cheese cubed

Melted butter

Poppy seeds for garnish

To make:

1. Flatten the chicken breasts, then brush a thin layer of pesto over the chicken, place one piece of bacon on top of the bacon then place a cube of cheese in the centre.
2. Take a sheet of phyllo pastry, brush one side with butter and fold over.  Place the chicken in the centre and fold closed.  Then fold the two opposite sides of the pastry and again the other sides – making a rectangle parcel.
3. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
4. Bake for 35 – 40min on 180 degrees
5. Serve with either a creamy cheese & mushroom sauce or a tomato & basil sauce.

NOTE:  Other fillings I’ve used with the chicken – fig and feta, stewed fruit, camembert and cranberry sauce, bacon and mango

Baklava

• 1  package phyllo pastry
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9×13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 – 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 – 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

2 Women, 4 Children a Tent and happy hippos!

As you may notice from the picture, camping is a lot harder than it looks…no jokes!

However, after many many setbacks in setting up the tent, being invaded by bugs, and complete sleep deprivation, I can confidently tick that experiment off my bucket list!  We soon realised that taking men camping with you may bare some sort of merit.  Now that that fiasco is over…..I was chatting to a friend of mine who was interested in making her own pasta.

Now for me the Italian cuisine is simply perfect!  I have this recipe for homemade pasta which I alter by adding finely chopped chillies or pesto which wins hearts every time!  The other thing I do is make panzarotti which is ideal for that “wow” factor when serving guests!

Pasta Recipe:

300G FLOUR
3 LARGE EGGS
1/2T SALT (OPTIONAL)

Ground fresh Chillies (optional)

Pesto (optional)

Method:

1.    Combining eggs and flour, make a well in the flour, pour the liquid into the well and slowly fold the flour into the liquid until the dough is formed.  (Add 1-2 Tbl water if the dough is not binding well.  Careful not to add too much!)

2.    Kneading the dough.  Empty the dough onto a clean work surface and knead with your hands until it is well blended.  Wrap the dough in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for about 20min.

Rolling the dough:

Divide the dough into 4 equal balls.  Working with one ball at a time whilst keeping the others covered.   Sprinkle your work surface liberally with flour.  Then flatten the ball and begin to roll it out, working quickly so that  it does not dry out.  After each roll, give it a quarter turn and flip it, dusting with more flour if necessary.  (Careful not to use too much flour, as this will also dry your dough out).  Roll it into a rectangle approximately 2mm thick.

4.   Shaping.  Allow the pasta to rest, covered with a tea towel on a flour dusted surface for a few minutes before you cut it into the shapes you are wanting.

Thickness:

Pappardelle ±4cm wide;
Tagliatelle ±2cm wide;
Taglierini ±1cm wide;

To cut the pasta, flour it well.  Then fold it along its length into  ±7cm sections to create a square, then cut it into desired widths/shapes.

Now a little secret of mine is to make butternut, mash it with real butter, salt, pepper and pecan nuts.  Cut Pasta pillow shapes and use approximately 1tsp per pillow.  Fold over the pasta and ensure that you have sealed it properly.  (this should make half moon shapes).  I cook it al’dente  and serve it covered in a creamy pecan nut and pesto sauce and finely grated parmesan cheese!

Happy Cooking!

Jax