A great appetizer doesn’t always need a lot of ingredients. This recipe comes to us from our friends Jamie and Greg from California whom we met on vacation this summer and immediately found a lot in common. One of those things is our love of good food done simply. Phyllo (also called filo or fillo) are paper-thin sheets of unleavened dough used for Middle Eastern and Balkan dishes. Handling the phyllo can sometimes be intimidating but we offer a few tips to make it easier. For this recipe, we substituted our Organic Butter Olive Oil in place of regular butter so not only is it a healthier appetizer but the Olive Oil spreads easier on the phyllo sheets because you don’t need to worry about the melted butter cooling, clumping and getting sticky. You can definitely experiment with the ingredients in this recipe. Use different herbs for the goat cheese filling, try our Organic Garlic Olive Oil in place of the Butter Olive Oil, and substitute the Fig Balsamic with almost any of our dark balsamic vinegar selections. Give it a try and let us know what new combinations you create!
INGREDIENTS
- 11 ounces goat cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 sheets of phyllo dough
- 2-3 tablespoons of Olive This! Organic Butter Olive Oil or Organic Garlic Olive Oil
- about 2 tablespoons Olive This! Black Mission Fig or 18-Year Traditional balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
- ½ teaspoon salt (not pictured above)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place an oven rack in the center position.
Place all of the softened goat cheese into a small bowl. Add the 1 teaspoon of dried thyme and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix until ingredients are combined.
Working with phyllo dough can sometimes be tricky. The secret is in (1) proper thawing, and (2) keeping them covered as you work with them. Phyllo usually comes frozen. Thaw the sheets according to the package directions. There are usually two methods: on the counter at room temperature for about 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge (the preferred method). Once thawed, unwrap them carefully and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel. This will keep them from drying out while you’re making your tartlets. Fortunately you only need 6 sheets so it will be somewhat quick.
Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the Butter or Garlic Olive Oil into a small bowl. Prepare your muffin pan by dipping your brush into the Olive Oil and coating all the cups of a 24-cup mini muffin pan. Next, make your tartlets. Lay one sheet of phyllo dough onto a cutting board or flat surface. Generously brush the Olive Oil onto the phyllo sheet until it is completely covered. Lay a second sheet of phyllo dough directly on top of the first one and repeat the application of Olive Oil.
Cut the sheets of oiled phyllo dough into eight equal parts as pictured above.
Using two teaspoons, scoop about 1 tablespoon of goat cheese filling onto the center of each square of phyllo dough. Bring up the corners of each square and cinch the oiled phyllo dough around the goat cheese. Place each tart into the oiled mini-muffin pan. This makes eight tartlets. Repeat the process two more times to make a total of 24 tartlets.
Bake the tartlets on the center rack of the oven for about 10 minutes. Once you remove them from the oven, let them cool in the mini-muffin pan for at least 10-15 minutes so they can set. If you try to remove them from the muffin pan too early, the tops will break apart from the cheese tartlets.
Transfer the tartlets to a serving dish and drizzle each morsel with a little of the Fig or Traditional balsamic vinegar. Do not overdo the balsamic or else it will pool in the serving dish and render your tartlets soggy.
Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve immediately!
MAKES 24 TARTLETS
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