“Fear of phyllo” or “phyllophobia” drives even the best of cooks and bakers into a frenzy.
I’m surprised by the number of good home cooks who have never attempted to work with this wonderful dough. Used frequently in Sephardic cuisine, phyllo is a paper-thin pastry that bursts into delicious buttery flakes when you bite into it. It is remarkably similar to puff pastry, but entails only a fraction of the work. And talk about impressing your guests — oohs and aahs always accompany a presentation of this showy and delicious pastry.
Flaky sheets of phyllo are easy to work with once you get the hang of it. Their versatility provides the shortcut beginnings for appetizers, main dishes and desserts. You don’t even have to make the dough yourself. Good- quality packaged phyllo dough is widely available in the refrigerator or freezer section of supermarkets. Best of all for the busy cook and party giver: Once assembled, phyllo pastries can be refrigerated the day before baking or frozen for several weeks.
Here are some tips for using phyllo: To prevent tears, allow the sheets to come to room temperature before working them. If a tear occurs, use some extra phyllo to patch it. You can use vegetable or olive oil instead of butter.
Apple Pecan Strudel
Serves 10
7 sheets of phyllo dough
1⁄2 cup melted (approx.) unsalted butter
Filling:
1 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
about 4 medium tart apples (Pippin, Granny Smith), peeled and coarsely chopped
3⁄4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1⁄2 cup raisins
In medium bowl, combine ingredients for filling and let stand about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking sheet.
To assemble strudel: Place one sheet on a work surface in front of you. Brush with butter. Continue until you have stacked all seven sheets, buttering in between. Do not butter the seventh sheet.
Spread an even 3-inch-wide strip of the apple mixture about 1 inch from the bottom and 2 inches from the sides. Fold in the bottom and sides of the phyllo dough and roll up like a jelly roll. Place the strudel, seam side down, on prepared baking sheet and liberally brush top and side with butter. (May be made one day ahead up to this point. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over strudel and refrigerate.) Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. Cut with serrated knife.
Phyllo-Wrapped Salmon with Leeks and Red Pepper
Serves 6
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 large red peppers, cut into strips
2 leeks, white part only, cut into strips
1⁄2 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1⁄2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
salt and pepper
12 sheets phyllo
1⁄2 cup melted unsalted butter
6 (5‑oz.) skinned salmon fillets
In a large skillet, heat oil. Cook peppers and leeks until tender, about 6 minutes. Add wine and crushed red pepper flakes and simmer until liquid evaporates, about 4 minutes. Cool and stir in basil, salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place one pastry sheet on work surface, short end facing you. Brush with butter. Top with a second sheet and again brush with butter. Place salmon fillet, crosswise, 5 inches from bottom. Top salmon with about 1⁄4 cup of leek mixture. Fold 5-inch section of pastry over salmon. Fold in sides and roll up, forming a rectangular packet. Transfer to baking sheet vegetable side up. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake about 35 minutes, until golden brown.
Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to [email protected].