Little Filo Cheese Rolls

Crispy, crunchy filo pastry baked around a lovely green onion, feta and ricotta cheese filling makes these little filo cheese rolls the perfect snack.

So it’s the Super Bowl today! As the old Texas saying goes, I don’t have a dog in that fight, but that won’t stop me from setting up my dvr to record the game (since it comes on a 3:30 a.m. Monday morning for me in Dubai) and then watching the most super of bowls munching on snacks and sipping on drinks.

And I am just going to warn you right now that I won’t be on Facebook on Monday until I’ve watched the game. It’s more fun to watch if I don’t already know the winner, don’t you think?

This week for Sunday Supper everyone is making delicious dishes that they would like to eat while watching the big game. The hard part was narrowing it down to just one! But I have to tell you that I am delighted with my choice! Crispy, crunchy filo pastry baked around a lovely green onion, feta and ricotta cheese filling. And as I bit into the first one, I decided it needed a little something to dip it into. So I poured some honey in a ramekin and added a chopped fresh red chili. The saltiness of the cheese was complemented beautifully by the sweet honey with a bite of spicy heat. So good!

Ingredients

1/3 cup or 75g melted butter

About 4 1/2 oz or 125g ricotta

3 1/2 oz or 100g feta

Generous bunch green onions

9 1/2 oz or 270g pack of filo – you won’t use all

Optional dip: About 1/4 cup or 60ml runny honey and one small red chili pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 325°F or 165°C.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  I give the pan a quick spray with Pam to stop the parchment from slipping around and you might want to do the same.

Finely chop about four inches or 10cm off the ends of your green onions.

In a small bowl, measure out your feta and ricotta and add in the green onions.  Use the tines of your fork to crumble the feta. 

Add in your egg and use your fork to beat it just a little bit.  Mix the whole lot together.  Set aside.

Remove the filo pastry from the package and figure out how to unfold it without ripping it so that you can see exactly how large the sheets are.  This is the trickiest bit of the whole recipe.  Once your sheets are unfolded, decide how you can best cut them into large rectangles of around 4 inches wide and 10-12 inches long. 

As you can see, my sheets were quite large so I ended up cutting them in fourths.  Stack all the layers on top of each other.  Place them on your clean kitchen counter.  I usually lay a piece of cling film down first to make clean up easier.

Brush the top sheet with melted butter and put about a tablespoon full of filling about an inch or two centimeters from the short edge.  

Roll the filo around the filling a couple of times and then fold in the two sides. Continue rolling until you reach the end of the sheet of filo.  Place seam side down on your prepared baking sheet. 

Continue buttering and adding filling and making cheese rolls until all of your filling is gone.  You will probably have some filo sheets left over.

Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining butter and bake in your preheated oven for around 30-45 minutes or until golden and crispy. 

While there is no official dipping sauce to go with this, as I mentioned above, I mixed a little honey with a chopped fresh red chili and it was lovely with the cheese rolls.  You might want to do the same!

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from an original by Claudia Roden in The Accidental Foodie. 

Have a look at all the wonderful dishes the #SundaySupper crew have prepared today!

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Appetizers & Snacks:

• All American Ranch Cheese Ball from The Weekend Gourmet
• Bacon Double Cheese Burger Dip from In the Kitchen with KP
• Bacon Kettle Corn from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Baked Crab Cakes from The Meltaways
• Buffalo Chicken filled Pull-Apart Loaf from Small Wallet Big Appetite
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza On A Stick from Neighborfood
• Buffalo Tofu Bites from Soni’s Food
• Cheeseburger Bites from Momma’s Meals
• Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Dip from Daily Dish Recipes
• Cranberry Glazed Meatballs from Curious Cuisiniere
• Easy White Queso with Chorizo from Supper for a Steal
• Eggplant Lentil Fritters With Orange Salsa from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• #GlutenFree 7 Layer Bean Dip from Cooking Underwriter
• Gulf Coast Smoked Tuna Dip from 30A Eats
• Ham & Cheese Crescents from Masala Herb
• Ham Crescents {Schinkenhoernle} #DairyFree from Galactopdx
• Little Filo Cheese Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Mini Crab Bites from Webicurean
• Muffuletta Skewers from Magnolia Days
• Onion Cheddar Cheese Ciabatta from Family Foodie
• Peach Jalapeno Fritters from I Run for Wine
• Philly Cheesesteak Bites from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Pizza Pretzel Rolls from Cravings of a Lunatic
• Pizza Wontons from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Refried Black Beans with Pita Chips from Basic N Delicious
• Roasted Garlic-Bacon Dip from girlichef
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Stamp & Go! from The Lovely Pantry
• Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Dates from Noshing with the Nolands
• Tandoori Spiced Popcorn from MarocMama
• Wonton Cones Filled with Oriental Salad from Simply Gourmet

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Main Dishes:

• Bacon-Wrapped Chili Cheese Dogs from Damn Delicious
• Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Sandwiches from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Chicken in Passion Fruit Crunch from The Urban Mrs.
• Green Chile Cheeseburgers from Juanita’s Cocina
• Grilled Pizza with Sausage and Spinach from Ruffles & Truffles
• Marinated Rump Steak with Chimichurri Sliders from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Meatball Sub Sliders from Country Girl in the Village
• Oven-Fried Catfish Fingers with Mango-Chili Dip from Pescetarian Journal
• Pigs in Sleeping Bags from Comfy Cuisine
• Turkey Sliders with Roasted Tomatoes from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Vegan “Hamburger Helper” Soup from What Smells So Good?

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Desserts:

• Shortbread Brownies from Baker Street
• Smores Blossom Cookies from Chocolate Moosey
• Sweet Little Pastries from Happy Baking Days
• Sweet Potato Cake Pops from Ninja Baking
• Toddler Truffles from In the Kitchen with Audrey

Pin these little filo cheese rolls!

Tabouli - Middle East Meal, Part 2

Bulgur wheat, fresh herbs and tomatoes in a garlicky vinaigrette, tabouli is the perfect salad to bring for potlucks or picnics because it can be made ahead and travels well.

I’ve mentioned before that we lived in Abu Dhabi for a couple of years, way back when.  And that is where we first ate shawarmas and falafel and hummus.  (A freshly fried falafel is a tender-inside, crispy-outside bite of toothsome heaven.  As we would wait for the shawarma guy to build our sandwiches, the falafel guy would hand us each one to eat while we waited – on the house.  As you can imagine we went back often!)  But I honestly don’t remember tabouli from those times.   I know that seems crazy and I must have eaten it – how could I not? – but I just don’t remember. My earliest memory of tabouli is from Macaé, Brazil.   

Anyone who has ever lived in a little oilfield town knows how close friends can get. We become like family. We are each others’ entertainment and we help raise each others’ children. This expat life is full of the joy of newcomers being welcomed into the family and the sadness of departing friends wrenched away from our tight circle.

In Macaé, one of the members of that circle was my friend, Jenny.  The mother of two daughters very close to the ages of my girls, we spent a lot of time together. She was raised in Jerusalem, in a family of Greek heritage so I believe she spoke Greek as well as Arabic, Portuguese and impeccable English. Possibly other languages. She is very smart.

Jenny taught me how to make tabouli and I am forever grateful. She said that back home, all the women in the family would get together and make massive amounts of tabouli together. It was a social event.Sounds like my kind of good time!  Now that I live only a two-hour flight from Jenny’s current home, I hope to get to see her again soon. Meanwhile I just think of her fondly whenever I make tabouli. Even after all these years.

 
Ingredients 

For the salad: 

3/4 cup or 130g bulgur wheat

1 bunch green onions

1 very large bunch of cilantro (coriander) or flat leafed parsley or a mixture of the two (If my memory serves, Jenny’s husband wasn’t fond of cilantro so she used all parsley.  Parsley is not my favorite so I tend to use all cilantro.  You can mix and match as you see fit.)

1 large bunch of fresh mint

About 13 oz or 375g tomatoes

For the dressing: 

3 tablespoons or 45ml fresh lime or lemon juice

1-2 cloves garlic

Sea salt

Black pepper

6 tablespoons or 90ml olive oil

Method

In metal or heatproof bowl, cover your bulgur wheat with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water and cover the bowl with a bit of cling film.  Set aside.

Chop your green onions finely and set aside.

 

Pick the mint leaves off the stalks and cut most of the stalks off of the cilantro/parsley.  (The tender, narrow stalks near the leaves are fine to leave in.) Wash the herbs several times and dry in a salad spinner or a dry dishcloth. 

Chop them thoroughly, rocking your big knife back and forth on a cutting board. 

Cut the tomatoes in half and cut out and discard the inner core.  Squeeze out the seeds and discard them.  Chop the tomatoes into little pieces. 

Once the bulgur wheat has absorbed all of the water it can, drain it in a strainer and push down on the top to get rid of any excess water.   Put it in a big salad bowl with plenty of room to stir. 

Add in the green onions and squeeze them into the warm bulgur wheat with your hands.  Jenny said it helps the onions release their flavor into the wheat. Or something like that.  Just do it. You do not argue with the wisdom of Greek mothers.

Next add in the tomatoes and then the herbs.  Stir well. 

Mince your garlic cloves and add them to a bowl with the fresh lime juice and about a 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt (or to taste) and a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper. 

 

Add in the olive oil and whisk until the dressing is thoroughly mixed. 

Pour this over your salad and stir well and you are ready to eat!  

This tabouli gets better and better as it sits so you can make it ahead without any problems.  It is the only salad I have been known to eat for a day or two after.  Sometimes three, if it lasts that long.

Enjoy!

Looking for parts one and three of the Middle East meal?

Part 1, Shish Tawook

Part 3, Hummus

Bubble and Squeak Cheesy Tarts

Bubble and Squeak, for those of you unfamiliar, is a dish created to use leftover potatoes, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and the like.  You are supposed to chop them all up and fry the mixture, hash-style, until it gets lots of nice crispy golden bits.  Some people put leftover meat as well.  

In this version, I cook the potato and Brussels sprouts specifically for this dish, because I love them both so much.  Also the addition of a good strong cheese, in this case, a sheep’s milk one from Greece, elevates this Bubble and Squeak to main course instead of just the next day’s afterthought.   If you do happen to have traditional leftovers, feel free to use them instead of my first two ingredients!

 I had never thought to use spring roll skins until I saw a Facebook post from a friend who had used wonton skins in a lovely baked egg concoction.  (Thanks, Belinda!)  The spring roll skins turned out lovely and crispy and didn’t over cook as I feared they might.  You could probably use ready-made puff pastry here too.

Ingredients

5-6 large Brussels sprouts

1 medium potato

1 1/2 oz or 43g sharp cheese

1 thick green onion or a couple of small ones

1 clove garlic

2 eggs

Sea salt

Black pepper

Cayenne

Olive oil

4 spring roll skins

2 oversized muffin tins

Method

Remove your four spring roll skins from the package and put them on your countertop covered with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out.

Slice the Brussels sprouts thinly and chop them a little by rocking your knife back and forth.

Peel and dice your potato.

Finely slice the white part of your green onion and clove of garlic.

Pan-fry the whole lot in a non-stick skillet, drizzled with a little olive oil.  Stir periodically and add a couple more drizzles of olive oil, cooking until there are a few brown crispy bits.  Add a little salt and a sprinkle of the two peppers.   Put the lid on and cook until the potatoes are tender.

Empty the skillet into a mixing bowl and allow to cool. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Meanwhile, grate your cheese.

Drizzle a little olive oil on one spring roll skin and spread it to cover the skin with your fingers or a pastry brush.   I must admit that I would have used a pastry brush but one did not come with me in the air shipment and I am still waiting on my sea freight.

Put a second spring roll skin on top of the first, making a eight-pointed star, and drizzle it with more olive oil.   Once again, spread the oil around with your fingers or a brush. 

Fit the two skins into your giant muffin tin.  Repeat with the second two skins and the second muffin cup.

Once your mixture has cooled sufficiently not to cook eggs on contact, add in the two eggs and about 3/4 of the cheese.   Mix well.

Spoon this mixture carefully into the two prepared muffin tins and top them both with the remaining cheese.  

Bake for 30-35 minutes in your preheated oven or until the filling is golden and bubbling.  Although probably not squeaking. 

Enjoy!

Roasted Corn-Off-The-Cob Shrimp Cakes

Yesterday I found a new blog. Truth be told, I found a few! But this one in particular caught my fancy because the very latest post, and therefore, the first one I read, spoke eloquently of corn, freshly roasted on the cob, scenting the afternoon air of northern Paris.  Then the recipe that followed was for some delicious corn cakes, but not using the roasted corn!  I was so surprised that I left the author a comment.  How could she resist the roasted corn?! I simply could not, so then I had to try it my way.  Somewhere along the recipe path, I also ended up adding fresh shrimp and cayenne pepper.  See what you think.

Ingredients

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup low-fat milk

3 medium cobs of corn, shucked and cleaned

2 eggs

1 tablespoon softened butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour + 1 good tablespoon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/2 bunch of scallions or green onion tops, chopped finely

105g or 2 3/4oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

285g or 10.5oz shrimp or prawns. (Weight after peeling and deveining.)

Method

In a medium bowl, stir together the corn meal and milk and set aside.

Heat your griddle pan really hot and put the cobs of corn on it. Weigh them down with a filled kettle or some other heavy item that can tolerate heat.

Keep turning the cobs and replacing the kettle until all the sides are nice and charred.  Remove from the pan and let cool.

Cut the kernels off the cobs with a sharp knife.

Pop them into a food processor,  add in the eggs and the softened butter and chop them up a little.  Do not completely pulverize. You want to still see char and corn kernels.  Spoon this mixture into the bowl with the corn meal mixture and stir together until combined. 

Chop your shrimp into little pieces and add them to the bowl.

Stir in the green onions and cheddar cheese.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cayenne.  (If you are not cooking and serving immediately, put the egg/shrimp mixture into the refrigerator and wait until you are ready to go before continuing with the next step.) Gently mix these dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and oil with oil, butter or cooking spray.  Cook the cakes on both sides until done, just as you would normal pancakes.

 The original post suggested topping the cakes with seasoned Greek yogurt and I concur. (Do check out the link! I really liked her blog.) However, I discovered at the last minute that my yogurt was sweetened and that just did not go.  So I substituted sour cream.  Sour cream is hard to come by regularly in Kuala Lumpur so I make my own by mixing 1/2 cup whipping cream with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice.  Works a dream. 

Cream, lemon juice, green onions, salt and pepper. 

The lemon juice thickens the cream beautifully. 

Serve each set of cakes with a dollop of the seasoned sour cream and a leafy green salad simply dressed in vinaigrette. 

Enjoy!