Today’s recipe is a bit more challenging, but when I plan a party menu, I like to include recipes that tickle the tastebuds and represent different ethnicities.  While I love to use up that warring cheese in my refrigerator, you can only include it so many times on a buffet table.  Once you get the hang of rolling these babies, like the puff pastry, you will have a new friend.  These triangles can be filled with whatever your imagination comes up.  

Filling.  We need to brown ground beef, garlic and onions until the beef is cooked.  Drain off the excess fat and add chutney, raisins, nuts, bread crumbs and our spices.  Stir to combine and remove from the heat.

Phyllo dough.  Buy this in the same section where you bought the puff pastry.  For those of you just joining us today, that is the freezer section near the pie shells and frozen fruit.  Phyllo dough is a very very thin dough which is probably most recognized in the Greek dishes spanakopita and baklava.  There are a few tips for working with phyllo dough which will make the experience seamless.

1.  Phyllo dough is very thin and dries out quickly.  As a result of these properties, it sometimes cracks and tears.  Many cookbooks tell you to wet a cloth and place it over the phyllo.  I find this too heavy and instead use a tip my grandmother taught me years ago.  Wet a paper towel and then wring it out as much as you can so that it is now just damp.  Lay this over the phyllo sheets you aren’t using to keep them moist.  When you open the phyllo box, you will see two cylinders of dough encased in plastic.  Go ahead and cut one open.  I usually unfurl the dough at this point to make it easier to pull sheets and then just fold it in half and cover with the paper towel.

2.  Melted butter is a must.  Many scoff at the notion of buttering each sheet but it has to be done.  There is nothing to this stuff and it needs a fat to keep it moist so it doesn’t crumble away to nothingness.  

3.  While you don’t have to run around like a chicken with your head cut off, speed and concentration are a necessity.  Have everything ready to go… the melted butter, your pastry brush, wet paper towel, cutting board, etc. 

4.  It is necessary to butter between each sheet with a bit of speed and to make sure to hit the edges which is the most common mistake I find.  If you miss a spot, it’s not the end of the world.  If you miss a spot on the first sheet, you will most likely find it on the second.  But if you tend to only butter the middle and ignore the edges…. you see the problem here.

5.  Finally, if a sheet tears, do not fret.  The butter will patch most of the tear and/or the next sheet to be added will cover it up.  I have used sheets which are in third’s before and it really doesn’t matter all that much.

Hehe…. I told you all of that and we aren’t even going to layer sheets.  But this was a good place to give you the Phyllo Primer so I felt it my duty to do so.

We are going to take one sheet of phyllo and cut it into three equal strips lengthwise (long side).  Brush with melted butter. Place a tablespoon of the filling at the bottom of the strip.  Fold a corner up over the filling and then continue folding as if folding a flag until you reach the end of the strip.  NOTE:  IF you were just making these without freezing them, you would now butter the triangle and bake.  But, since these are going into the freezer, we will not butter but will do so prior to baking.  

 

TIP:  Once you get the hang of the fold, go ahead and butter the whole sheet and then cut it.  If you struggle with the fold, the remaining buttered strips will get very soft and hard to work with.  After you have mastered the technique, this shouldn’t be an issue as you will buzz right through these and wonder why you never applied for a job as a flag holder as you are a natural at it!  

Cover, label and freeze.  Appetizer No. 2 in the tank.  Tomorrow, Polenta Tarts.

 

CURRIED BEEF TRIANGLES   adapted from First Impressions

Yield: approximately 30 

1/2 tbsp olive oil

3/4 lb ground beef

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup chutney (I used peach)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup nuts (I used slivered almonds)

1 tbsp plain bread crumbs

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

1 stick butter, melted

Heat oil in a saute pan.  Add onions and sweat, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and stir, about 30 seconds.  Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Drain off fat and put back into pan.  Add chutney, raisins, nuts, bread crumbs, curry, salt and pepper and stir to combine. 

Place one sheet of phyllo on work surface with short side in front of you.  Butter the sheet and cut into three lengthwise strips with a sharp knife.  Add about one tablespoon of the filling to the corner of the sheet.  Fold one corner of the phyllo to the other in a 90 degree angle and then fold over and over like you are folding a flag until you reach the end of the strip.

Continue with the phyllo sheets and filling.  If you are baking now, brush the tops with melted butter.  If you are freezing for later use, pack, label and freeze and brush with melted butter when you are baking them.

Bake on a cookie sheet in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.