Fig & Goat Cheese Phyllo Cups

Years ago, I took a Greek cooking class with my friend Katie to learn how to use phyllo. This recipe came from this class. Fig and goat cheese sounds admittedly strange. You really need to give it a try though. The taste is very surprising, especially considering the ingredients. I got my cousin Anna hooked on them when I brought leftovers to her house. They are great for appetizers, or even desserts. It's one of those dishes that walks a fine line between food and sweets. And you don't get much more Greek than figs and goat cheese! 

 

Make phyllo cups according to instructions.

 

½ cup dried figs

½ cup water

¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 package goat cheese

Cut figs in small pieces. Simmer in a saucepan with water and vinegar until boils. Continue heating until mixture is a syrup, but does not begin to harden. Let cool. Add to phyllo or puff pastry. Top with goat cheese crumbles or a dollop if creamed. Bake for about 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

Using Phyllo and Making Phyllo Cups

It's really amazing how easy this gets after you've been doing it a while. Phyllo cups are very easy to make once you get the hang of it. 

First of all, phyllo comes in a few different varieties. If you're a newbie, make sure you get the one that is labeled horatiki, or country style. This is thicker and much easier to use than the thinner varieties. If you freeze this, make sure you defrost it the night before, in the fridge. 

Once you open the plastic package, it needs to stay covered at all times and not left open to the air. Phyllo will pretty much turn to crunchy paper incredibly fast if you don't keep it stored properly when working with it. Get two dish towels, one for the bottom and one for the top of the dough and run them under warm water. Then, ring them out pretty well. They should just be damp, but too wet will also cause the sheets to stick together. You will know pretty quickly if you've messed this up or not once you position the dough between the towels and start using it. 

Heat up some butter on a pan on low, and by some I mean at least a stick. These dishes are not very diet friendly. The thing to remember is that butter must be brushed between EVERY layer! You will need a brush with bristles, those plastic basting brushes will do you no good here. You need the really cheap one that the bristles sometimes fall out of, you just have to watch out for that. 

For cups, cut the dough in strips. You will cook them in a muffin pan. For regular sized, cut about 2-3 inch strips, for the mini size, about 1 1/2 inches. Pull out one sheet of cut phyllo at a time and brush one whole side with melted butter on a clean, dry surface. I love my glass cooktop for this! Fold it into a square and then quickly press it into the pan. When you have filled the pan, brush the edges with more butter and bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes. They should just start to turn golden on the edges. If they brown quickly, you used too much butter. 

They are much easier to handle after this. You can transfer them to a baking sheet at this point and then easily fill them. They can be stored in the fridge until right before you want to serve them, and just heated up in the oven. Just don't try to stack trays unless you are sure you won't crush your cups, they are still fragile. 

You can go crazy filling these with anything! Try spinach, cheeses, fruit compotes, meats, even Nutella or peanut butter! The possibilities are endless! Have fun with them. The more you make them, the better you will get at it.