Mediterranean Fillo Triangles

Surprise your special someone with a dinner of just appetizers. This is how they regularly eat in Spain (they call the dishes tapas). For dinner you have little plates of lots of different kinds of foods. Everything is just one or two bites and you share. Break out a bottle of wine and have some fun with it.

Ingredients

• fresh parsley, finely chopped  ·  2 teaspoons 
• olive oil  ·  1/3 cup 
• butter, melted  ·  1/3 cup 
• package of Fillo, thaw in fridge overnight, room temperature unopened for 2 hours  ·  1 pound 
• lemon juice  ·  2 tablespoons 
• eggs  ·  2 
• goat or sheep feta preferred, crumbled  ·  6 ounces 
• fresh goat cheese, room temperature  ·  8 ounces 
• dill, finely chopped  ·  2 teaspoons 
• fresh spinach, wash, dry and remove any long stems  ·  1 pound 
• Kalamata olives, chopped  ·  1/2 cup 
• large cloves garlic, grated or minced  ·  3 
• black pepper, fresh ground  ·  ¼ teaspoon 
• kosher salt  ·  1 teaspoon 
• white mushrooms, finely chopped  ·  2 cups 
• yellow onion, finely chopped  ·  1 ½  cups 
• butter  ·  2 tablespoons 
• olive oil  ·  2 tablespoons 

Instructions

Phyllo, filo, or fillo dough, from Greek “filo” meaning “leaf” is paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour dough used for making pastries in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine. Don't use fillo for just special dinners and parties. Fillo makes everyday, at home meals special, too. You won't go overboard, but it will look like you did!

Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large high sided pan on medium high heat and add the spinach. If your pan is not large enough you may have to do this in 2 batches.  Toss the spinach with a pair of tongs and cook until it is wilted. Drain the spinach in a sieve. Let sit until it is cool enough to handle, then squeeze it dry in small batches and press it again in paper towels. Chop the spinach in small pieces and set aside.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter in a 12 inch skillet and sauté the onions, mushrooms, 1 tsp kosher salt and ½ tsp pepper on medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Turn off the heat, add the olives, parsley and dill and set the skillet aside to cool.

Beat the goat cheese in a medium bowl and when smooth stir in the feta, 2 eggs, spinach mixture and lemon juice. The mixture will be loose.  Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until firm.

Open and unroll the Fillo and place on a sheet of wax paper on the counter and cover with a damp, lightweight dish towel. Mix the 1/3 cup of butter with the 1/3 cup olive oil.  Take 1 sheet of Fillo, cover the rest, and place it on the counter with the short side (13”) facing you.  Brush the entire top half of the sheet with the butter/oil mixture.  Lift the lower half (which has no butter/oil on it) up and fold it on to the top half. You now have a 13’ wide by 9” deep rectangle. Brush it with the butter mixture.

Take about a ½ Tbsp or so of spinach mixture and center it a ½ inch from the lower Fillo edge that is facing you. Place 4 more spoons of spinach 2 on each side of the 1st so you now have 5 equally spaced spoonfuls of spinach on the lower edge of the Fillo.  With a sharp chef’s knife, or pizza wheel, cut between the spinach mounds so you now have 5 strips of Fillo with spinach filling at the end facing you. Take the end of one strip and fold it over making a triangular shape.  Continue folding like you would fold a flag, enclosing the filling completely as you fold. When folded, brush with butter mixture and place on a parchment lined sheet pan. Continue with the other 4 pieces. Repeat until all the filling and Fillo are used.

Pre-heat an oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.  Brush lightly with butter as soon as they come out of the oven and sprinkle with chives. Let cool for 8 to 10 minutes before serving

You can make these ahead and freeze them, wrapped well, for up to 6 weeks. Pull out as needed and bake frozen adding a few minutes on to the baking time. This recipe makes 8 dozen small Hors d’Oeurves