Tag Archives: phyllo dough

Appetizers, Recipes

Greek Festival Tiropitas

Photo of Tiropitas

Tiropitas are a delightful combination of phyllo dough and feta cheese. They make a great snack or appetizer for parties. In Greek, the word means cheese pie. While their carb count is a little high for snacking on many of them, at 3.2 net carbs each, you can indulge in two or three depending on your total carb allotment for the day.

I’ve made tiropitas many times over the past decades, but I have to admit this last time really caused headaches. My preferred brand of Phyllo dough (Athena) wasn’t stocked by the market I usually buy it from, and the one they had turned out to be problematic. It broke when I unfolded the sheets and continued to break while I folded the dough into packets. The dough tends to dry out while you’re using it, so it becomes more difficult to work.

Ultimately, I developed plan B, which was to use phyllo cups instead. Not only did his work better, but the cups come out lower in carbs, but they also hold more of the cheese mixture. I have dubbed these tiropita cups, although they could be described as a mini Greek quiche.

Photo: Tiropita Cups

Tiropitas

1 pound feta cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 package (16 ounces) frozen phyllo sheets (18×14 inches), thawed
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted

Heat oven to 400°F. Prepare a cookie sheet by placing a sheet of parchments paper on it and spraying it with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, crumble the cheese and mash with a fork. Stir in eggs, basil, and white pepper until well mixed. Alternately, you can put the cheese into the food processor and pulse it a few times to break it into small bits, then add the eggs, basil, and pepper and pulse to mix together. You want it to be coarse rather than a paste.

On your large work surface, unroll the phyllo sheets carefully and cut them lengthwise into 2-inch strips. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper, then with a damp towel to keep them from drying out.

Take one strip, and place 1 level teaspoon of the cheese mixture on the end. Fold the strip over the cheese, turn it, and bring the right side to the left edge to form a triangle. Turn the triangle up, then fold it from the left edge to the right side. This makes a triangular fold, like folding a flag. Repeat until you come to the end of the strip. Tuck the dough under and place on the cookie sheet. Repeat with each dough strip.

Once all the strips are done, brush the triangles lightly with butter.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

To make them in cups, place the cups on a parchment-covered sheet pan and fill each cup with a rounded teaspoon of the cheese mixture.

Once all the cups are filled, lightly brush with butter if you wish. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

These are best when baked just before serving. You can prepare them earlier and bake when needed or refrigerate or freeze them until you’re ready. If you freeze the packets, let them thaw before baking or add a little extra baking time.

The folded tiropitas make about 72 triangular cookies. Most packages have 18 to 20 sheets of dough.

The cups make about 60 appetizers. Each package has 15 cups in it.

Desserts, Recipes

Greek Festival Flavors

Photo: Baklava pieces

Many years ago,  I traveled to Greece for my first European holiday. I loved the country and the people, but I really loved the food. Every year in Reno, the local Greek Church has hosted a festival. Last year’s was cancelled due to COVID, and this year’s is just an order-your-favorite-foods year. Well, rather than indulging in higher carb’d delights, I decided to make my own.

If you love nuts, honey, and spices, you’ll flip for Baklava, the sweet, delightfully delicious honey-nut pastry. There’s no way around the flaky pastry dough. I wouldn’t even try to recreate it with delicate low carb flour. But, I can, and did, save a lot of carbs on the filling. This recipe will give you all the flavor without all the carbs, but the real problem is, you can only have one or two pieces a day, depending on you carb threshold. For me, it’s one piece and careful eating the rest of the day. But it is soooo worth it!

You need a jelly roll pan, which is like a cookie sheet with deep sides, and is about 10×13-inches. You’ll also want a pastry brush and a lot of space to work. The recipe is actually easy to make, but you need to work quickly to keep the dough from drying out while you’re working. So, with all that in mind, here’s the recipe.

Photo: Sheet of baked Baklava

Baklava (Greek Honey Nut Pastries)

1 lb. Phyllo Dough (Filo or Fillo)
2 cups raw Pecans, chopped
1 cup raw Almonds, chopped
1 1/2 cups Butter, melted (3 sticks)
2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

Honey Syrup:
1 1/2 cups granulated Sugar Substitute
1 1/2 cups Water
2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
3/4 cup Sugar-free Honey

Begin by chopping the nuts to a nice crumble.  I use a small food processor to do this and pulse them for about six times. Next, mix the chopped nuts with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.)

Melt the butter and get a pastry brush ready. Prepare a 10-x13 jelly roll pan by covering the bottom with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Brush butter over the top.

Open the dough package and roll out on a sheet of wax paper. Put another sheet of wax paper over the top and cover with a damp towel to help prevent drying. Carefully move a sheet of filo dough to the pan and brush with butter. The dough will probably overlap the side of the pan. You will trim it later. Repeat 4 to 5 more times, brushing butter on between each sheet. Brush the top sheet, then sprinkle half the nuts over the dough.

Repeat another layer of 5 or 6 filo sheets, each brushed with butter. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts evenly over the dough. Repeat the layers one more time, brushing with butter each time.

Cut dough ready to bake.
This is the completed phyllo dough after the boxes are cut into triangles. You can see one uncut one on the bottom left.

With a sharp knife, trim the dough at the edges of the pan off by cutting right along the inside of the pan. Remove the dough and discard.

Using a sharp knife and cutting part-way through the dough, cut the dough lengthwise into three equal sections.  Turn the pan and cut the dough across the middle. Cut each half into three sections. Cut each box section across diagonally to make two triangles. When done, you will have 36 triangles. Carefully pour the rest of the butter over the top, making sure the butter gets into all the cuts where it will roll down to the bottom.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the pastries are golden brown.

While they are baking, make your honey syrup: Add sugar to a medium-sized pot, then add water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat. Let boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the honey. Stir in it, then let it sit until the pastries are done.

Remove the pastries from the oven and put the pan on a padded counter or cooling rack. Use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop the syrup and pour it over the hot pastries. They will sizzle, which is normal. Use all the syrup on the pan, making sure it gets into all the cracks and down to the lower layers. Let cool before eating. The baklava is best after it has rested for several hours allowing the dough to soak up the syrup.

Makes 36 pieces of baklava.

Note: The baklava is very sticky to eat. The tops do not stick to the nuts, so they tend to be a deliciously messy. I found they held together and tasted best after the first day.

Nutrition Information: Baklava

Coming next week, a recipe for another Greek favorite,  tiropitas!  These are delectable cheese appetizers wrapped in phyllo dough.