Sriracha Quinoa Cakes with Goat Cheese and Spinach

Somehow, my move to The South triggered a new craving in my life: Hot sauces. I don’t know if it’s the over abundance of hot sauces in these parts (they are always placed on the table with the salt and pepper, regardless of your meal) or the increase in rich foods I’ve been eating (hot sauce cuts through the grease), but I can’t eat a bite of most savory meals without reaching for the Texas Pete’s or Sriracha.

Aside from offering an acidity to the dish and a bit of salt, there’s something about the taste of good hot sauce that amplifies all the other flavors. But you have to tread delicately, lest you overwhelm the dish.

This little recipe, adapted from We Are Not Martha, is built around Sriracha, so you don’t have to worry about it overpowering the other flavors. Instead, it offers a roasted heat to the crunchy quinoa cakes that are spotted with creamy bits of goat cheese and green spinach.

They were a fun little snack and would be good dipped in sour cream, I think. And the presence of quinoa just makes it feel healthy. Try them and let me know what you think!

Sriracha Quinoa Cakes with Goat Cheese and Spinach

Ingredients:

• 2 C cooked quinoa
• 3/4 C breadcrumbs (I used dried)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 C chopped baby spinach
• 1/4 C Sriracha hot sauce
• 2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
• Pinch salt
• 1-2 T olive oil

In a large bowl, mix ingredients well. Form mixture into patties, 1-2 T each.

Drizzle EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add patties to skillet.

Cook patties until lightly browned on each side, about 5 min. per side. Add more oil as needed in between batches.

Then you’re done! Each with a squeeze of lime juice and a dollop of sour cream, if you wish.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Spinach and Feta Puffs

Sometimes it seems all we eat during the month of December is in appetizer form. So many parties, potlucks, gatherings and get-togethers, all of which constitute a meal made in bite-sized portions.

I’ve been looking beyond my typical pesto palmiers recipe lately, but haven’t given up my appetizer stand-by: puff pastry. So I tried an idea from Bon Appetit that combines my love of spanikopita with my annoyance of phyllo dough. Solution: wrap up those Mediterranean flavors in puff pastry instead.

I made these for a neighborhood party, where they were gobbled up quickly, and I will be making them for our annual family Christmas party as well.

A great snack that you can eat with one hand but is more substantial than chips-and-dip.

Adapted from Bon Appetit…

Spinach and Feta Puffs

Ingredients, serves 6: (note, I doubled this)

• 1 ten-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well (squeeze dry)
• 1/2 c. crumbled feta
• 1/4 c. minced onion
• 1 T EVOO
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• Kosher salt and cracked pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix spinach and next 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, beat 1 egg and fold egg into spinach mixture.

Roll puff pastry out to a 12-inch square and cut into three strips, then cut those strips in thirds for a total of 9 small squares. Place each square in muffin tin cup, leaving corners pointing up. Divide filling among cups, roughly 1 heaping Tablespoon per cup ( you don’t want too much). Fold dough tips over and pinch together. (Note: next time I will use cooking spray to make them easier to get out)

Beat remaining egg and brush over pastry. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper.

Bake until pastry is golden and puffed, about 25 min. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Use sharp paring knife to loosen puffs and cool to desired temperature on wire rack.

There you go! I have made these ahead and then just nuked them before the party so they are still a little warm. The filling is also easy to make in advance.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Heirloom Tomatoes with Feta

I have an inkling that the more global and connected our lives get through technology and new communications platforms, the more valuable hyper-local experiences are becoming.

There’s nothing quite like the sensation of browsing your neighborhood farmers’ market on a Saturday, where you run into friends, colleagues and artisans who know you by name. And yes, I mean “neighborhood farmers’ market,” because it seems I’m discovering new markets every year – we have, what, five in my city?

On my recent visit to the Old Salem Cobblestone market, I picked up a bunch of colorful tomatoes that I wanted to eat immediately. They had those green striped “zebra” tomatoes, your classic red heirloom and a pretty yellow variety called Lillian, like my sister!

Once I picked out my basket-full, I hurried over to the goat cheese stand and almost had to fight a woman to get the last 5 ounces of feta goat cheese. But I won! And I don’t feel bad.

What came later was a delicious lunch for two that would also serve well as a summer appetizer – I’m calling it a twist on my typical tomato/basil/mozzarella salad.

Heirloom Tomatoes with Feta

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large tomatoes, or equivalent smaller
• 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
• 5 oz. feta
• Sliced baguette
• 1 garlic clove
• EVOO
• S&P to taste

Preheat broiler. Place enough bread slices for two people on baking sheet and drizzle with EVOO, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until lightly toasted, then rub toasted sides with raw garlic. Place on platter.

Meanwhile, thickly slice your feta and tomatoes.

Place tomato and feta slices equally on bread, then scatter platter with basil leaves. Sprinkle with cracked pepper (you probably won’t need more salt if the feta is super salty). This was an excuse to use a beautiful new platter we got as a wedding gift.

Now, all you have to do is enjoy! The bread soaks up all the tomato juices and the feta adds a seasoning all its own. Eat with your hands.

So fresh, so simple, so yummy.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Couscous Cakes with Artichokes, Feta and Creamy Mint Sauce

Let me begin by saying that I love anything with artichokes. Growing up, my birthday dinner always included steamed artichokes, which provided tender leaves for me to pluck off and dunk in a lemon-butter sauce.

While artichokes don’t play a prominent role in this recipe, they add a certain olfactory nostalgia when I get a bite that includes the crispy couscous cake, tender artichoke and lemony mint dressing.

This recipe is a pleasant surprise that I easily made on a weeknight with some leftover couscous – remember my risotto cakes? Yeah, using leftovers in this fashion is amazing!

You start by mixing cooked couscous with lemon zest, eggs and a puree of chickpeas, parsley and garlic. Then you press them into 1/4 cup measuring cups  and pan fry them until golden on each side. The egg holds them together quite well – I only had one cake fall apart a bit. THEN you place them on a salad of lettuce (I used bibb lettuce), tomatoes, artichoke hearts and a delicious sauce made of sour cream, mint, lemon juice and olive oil. Finish with a sprinkling of feta cheese.

I think Grant was a disbeliever when he first saw me making this, but then the smells got him salivating and he ended up loving it.

Another splendid recipe from my Fine Cooking magazine that I can’t put down!

Couscous Cakes with Artichokes, Feta and Creamy Mint Sauce

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

For the dressing –

• 2 T fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1 T low-fat sour cream
• 1 tsp finely chopped mint leaves (it grows like a weed around here)
• 5 T EVOO
• Salt and pepper

For the couscous cakes –

• 3/4 c. couscous
• 1 c. chicken stock
• Kosher salt
• 1 large garlic glove, peeled
• 1/4 c. packed Italian parsley leaves
• 1 14-oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 T canola oil

For the salad –

• Lettuce of your choice (spinach works well, or Romaine or bibb)
• 14 oz. artichoke hearts, drained and sliced (I used Trader Joe’s frozen artichoke quarters and just thawed them and drained them)
• 1 c. chopped fresh tomato (or cherry tomatoes)
• 1 oz. crumbled feta cheese

In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, sour cream and mint. Slowly whisk in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Bring chicken stock to boil, then add 1 tsp salt and couscous. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then set aside to cool (or make ahead!)

In a food processor, add garlic and parsley, pulsing until chopped. Add chickpeas and 1 tsp salt and pulse until blended together.

In a medium bowl, mix together the chickpea mixture, couscous, eggs and lemon zest. Press mixture into 1/4-cup measure and invert to release the cake. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Heat 1 1/2 T oil in large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add enough cakes to fit, flattening them with a spatula a bit. Cook, flipping once, until browned on each side, then remove to a paper-towel lined plate to cool. Repeat with remaining cakes, adding more oil as necessary.

To assemble the salad, place lettuce on a plate, then tomatoes, artichokes and cakes. Drizzle with creamy mint sauce and finish with a sprinkling of feta.

So good! Just right for a warm night – eating outside or in front of the TV for the season finale of Mad Men (eeeek!).

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Appetizer Spanikopita

I made this spanikopita for a party on St. Patrick’s Day – the spinach is green, so y’know…

While I’ve made “dinner spanikopita” before, this is a different sort of deal because it’s basically a strudel. Rolling sheets of buttered phyllo dough around a filling of spinach, green onions and feta, then baking and slicing into pieces. Sort of like my curried chicken strudel – also from Ina Garten. Because she’s the queen of entertaining, I knew I should use her recipes.

This was very popular at the party and I loved having leftovers for lunch – the recipe used almost all of the phyllo from the box. It’s also pretty easy, aside from the whole dealing-with-phyllo thing. The trick is to just be gentle, and don’t use too much butter.

Adapted from Ina Garten…

Appetizer Spanikopita

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch chopped scallions, white and green parts
• 2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 40 sheets (1 box) frozen phyllo dough, defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add the scallions. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the scallions (with oil), eggs, feta, salt, and pepper and mix together.

Keep the phyllo dough sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel. Unfold 1 sheet of the phyllo dough. Brush the sheet lightly with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs. Repeat the process by laying a second sheet of phyllo dough over the first sheet, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs until 10 sheets have been used. Spoon 3/4 cup of the spinach mixture into a sausage shape along one edge of the phyllo dough. Roll it up. Brush the top with butter and score the roll into 1-inch rounds. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (if making ahead, just cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate). Place it on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Repeat until all the pastry and filling have been used (mine made three “loaves”).

Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Then slice all the way through…

Grant liked this with a little extra cracked pepper and coarse salt sprinkled on top – not a bad addition, if you ask me. I love the flaky phyllo with the creamy feta and spinach inside.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Greek Cinnamon-Tomato Pasta

Experimenting with sweet spices is an interesting way to stretch your culinary repertoire into more exotic places. For instance, would I ever have thought of adding 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to a pasta dish? Of course not – but luckily, I subscribe to The Splendid Table’s newsletter, and this one happened along.

I changed the recipe up a bit – most notably with the pasta. I couldn’t find hollow pasta at my regular grocery store and I’m so over dealing with Whole Foods and it’s crowded parking lots and aisles. So I made due with linguine. I also didn’t break my pasta off into pieces, like pasta-roni. Instead, I left it long, so I could curl it around my fork. It’s one of my favorite things about pasta – the fork-twirling.

This truly is one of those hearty all-in-one meals – you have your vegetables, meat (chopped rotisserie chicken) and pasta all in one. The tomato sauce is spicy and enhanced with white wine and that warmth that comes from ground cinnamon. I also sprinkled feta cheese over mine, which added a nice, cold flavor contrast (but you won’t see the cheese in any of the pictures).

Very good, if you can get past the weirdness of all that cinnamon.

Greek Cinnamon-Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:

• Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/3 tighty-packed cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste (put your leftover in ice cube trays to freeze and use next time – that’s what I do!)
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 c. diced tomatoes in their juices
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups diced cooked chicken (good way to use leftover chicken; optional)
• 1 pound linguine
• 1/2 c. feta cheese (or goat cheese)

Bring the salted water to a boil and while that works, work on the following:

Generously fill the bottom of a 12-inch sauté pan with olive oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, parsley, and generous sprinklings of salt and pepper. Sauté the onions to golden brown. Then stir in the tomato paste, garlic, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, and pepper flakes. Turn the heat down to medium and sauté for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, raise the heat to medium-high and cook the sauce for 8 minutes, or until thick. Taste for seasoning, remove the pan from the heat, and if using the chicken, stir it in.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water. Boil, stirring often, for 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender but still has a little bite. As the pasta cooks, reheat the sauce over medium-high heat. Once the pasta is done, drain it in a colander and add it to the sauce. Toss over the heat for a minute or more to help the sauce permeate the noodles.

To serve, pile pasta on plates with generous spoonfuls of the chicken and tomato mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese (not pictured below).

As an end to this post, here is a picture of our little bonsai tree. I can’t remember who gave it to us, but soon this baby appeared on it. I think the baby came from a Mardi Gras King’s Cake. We keep them on the kitchen window. Grant moves him around the plant as if he wants a different view every now and then…

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Spinach and Lemon Spaghetti Frittata

It must be my obsession of pasta that makes me attracted to dishes like this. Dishes that use pasta in random, unexpected ways. Although I had never made one until now, I love the idea of a pasta pie or pasta frittatas – dishes that I’m sure came out of the necessity of using leftover cooked spaghetti.

While the idea of baking pasta into a frittata seems low-country, it turns out surprisingly tasty and elegant. In fact, I like the texture of this better than an all-egg frittata – it seems somehow lighter (fewer eggs used?). The pasta gets nice and toasted on the bottom, almost acting like a crust for the filling.

Finally, the flavors are superb. Fresh baby spinach, feta cheese, lemon and basil – the yellows and greens create a spring/summer-like sensation that is full of sunshine.

Adapted from In Sock Monkey Slippers.

Spinach and Lemon Spaghetti Frittata with Feta and Basil

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp EVOO
• 1 c. cooked spaghetti or capellini, coarsely chopped
• 1 c. baby spinach, chopped
• 1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
• 4 T fresh basil, cut into strips

Preheat oven to 400.

Whisk together eggs, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In large oven-safe nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low and add spaghetti. Add spinach on top of pasta, in even layer. Pour egg mixture over the spinach and spaghetti and tilt pan so eggs are evenly distributed. Simmer 3-5 min, until eggs begin to firm up around the edges. Sprinkle feta evenly across the top.

Place skillet in oven and bake for 8-10 min, until center is set.

Allow to cool 5 minutes, then slide a spatula around edges and under, to move the frittata onto a cutting board or serving platter.

Mine stayed together just fine. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, pepper and fresh basil. Cut into wedges.

Can you see the little pieces of pasta peeking out from the bottom?

I love how golden and slightly crunchy the “crust” became. Just wonderful – the spinach adds body, and that feta becomes creamy and lemony all on its own – wonderful additions to eggs.

This would be a wonderful Sunday brunch entree.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Roasted Shrimp with Fennel and Feta

This is one of those dishes that I just couldn’t photograph in a way to fully illustrate how incredibly delicious it is. A serious problem for someone always pointing a camera at her plate.

Regardless, I hope you read on, as this is one of the more beautifully delicious shrimp dishes I have made, and all in one pot. Roasting the shrimp with freshly sauteed fennel, tomatoes and herbs, topped with homemade breadcrumbs and crumbled feta cheese and a squeeze of lemon. Fresh and light and just delicious.

I adapted it from Ina Garten, of course, and my version is even simpler than hers, without sacrificing any flavor.

Roasted Shrimp with Fennel and Feta

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• Good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups diced fennel (1 bulb)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch dried anise seed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 ounces feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
• 1 cup fresh torn pieces of bread
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in 10- or 12-inch heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the fennel and garlic and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits clinging to the bottom of the skillet, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, anise seed, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the skillet. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Arrange the shrimp in one layer over the tomato mixture in the skillet.

Scatter feta evenly over the shrimp. In bowl of a food processor, add the bread and pulse until it becomes small crumbs. Add parsley, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle evenly over the shrimp.

Bake the shrimp for about 15 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through and the bread crumbs are golden brown.

Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the shrimp. Serve hot with wedges of lemon.

This totally works. The shrimp loves the lemon and lemony feta, and the fennel and tomato mixture creates a delicious sauce to hold it all. We had ours with a simple green salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices. Perfect for a summer dinner and I had plenty of leftovers for lunch!

Enjoy, friends xoxo

Greek Couscous Salad with Roasted Chicken

Good lord I love couscous. Perhaps as much as I love its long-legged cousin, pasta. A simple vehicle for great flavors and seasonings. My friend Krissy recently transformed couscous into a delicious Greek-inspired salad that I have since made twice and call it my favorite fresh hot-weather meal. Because when it’s in the 90s, with 90% humidity, you just want something that can be served chilled. With a tall glass of iced tea or white wine.

Nothing satisfies more than crisp cucumber, juicy tomato, sweet basil, crumbly feta and the crunch of spring onions.

I found these cool purple spring onions at the farmers’ market, and they tasted a bit sharper than a shallot, but the greens were like scallions.

Really, any onion will do. Krissy made hers with store-bought rotisserie chicken, which is wonderful. I, however, was feeling cheap, so I roasted my own chicken.

Please see this recipe as just a loose representation of something I created adding a bit of this and a splash of that. Go on, do the same!

Greek Couscous Salad with Roasted Chicken

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 2 or 3 split chicken breasts, with skin (you’ll have leftovers, so just roast all of it)
• EVOO
• Kosher salt, pepper
• Cooked couscous (made using 1 c. uncooked couscous, but made with chicken stock instead of water – follow package instructions)
• 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
• 1 small cucumber or half large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1/3 c. sliced red onion, shallot or spring onions
• 4 oz. feta cheese, cubed
• 1/4 c. chopped basil leaves
• 1/4 c. EVOO, whisked with 4 T fresh lemon juice (1-2 lemons) and pinch S&P.

Preheat oven to 425 and line baking sheet with foil. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until skins are crispy and chicken is just cooked through, roughly 30 min (gah! I didn’t pay attention to the time! I just waited until I could smell it and the skin was golden, then I took it out and sliced into a thick portion, revealing clear juices and tender meat. Perfect!).

Meanwhile, prep all your veggies and cook the couscous. Add cucumber, tomato, onion, basil and feta to a medium bowl. Pour vinaigrette over and set aside.

When couscous has cooled to room temperature, add it to the vegetable mixture and toss to incorporate (hot couscous will melt the feta).

When chicken is done, allow to cool 15-20 min., then slice away from bone and into chunks. To serve, spoon couscous salad onto plates, then top with chicken. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, few cracks of pepper and a sprinkling of flaked sea salt.

This is so delicious. All the different textures scream SUMMER! We ate ours outside on the newly beautified front patio, just before the hot winds blew in a thunder storm.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Spanikopita

Every year after Thanksgiving, I find myself craving something as far from roasted bird as possible. These are the times for Thai takeout, sushi eaten curled up on the couch and breakfast-for-dinner.

A nice meal my Greek-looking friend and I recently enjoyed would be perfect for such times. Ina Garten’s take on that classic Greek dish: spanikopita.

Ina creates a robustly flavored filling of spinach, toasted pine nuts, onion, scallions, Parmesan, nutmeg and cubes of feta cheese that becomes sealed in a packet of buttery phyllo dough that flakes off as you bite into it.

Working with phyllo is always aggravating, and this time was no different. Next time, I will make fully sure that my dough it completely thawed before working with it – lest it break off into a million shards.

We used less than half the recipe, freezing the rest for another time. We made six spanikopitas, which we served with Grant’s classic cucumber/tomato/onion salad like his Southern mama used to make.

Spanikopita

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups small-diced feta cheese (12 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 24 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• Flaked sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the scallions, and cook for another 2 minutes until the scallions are wilted but still green. Meanwhile, gently squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a large bowl.

When the onion and scallions are done, add them to the spinach. Mix in the eggs, Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons bread crumbs, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Gently fold in the feta and pine nuts.

Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough flat on a work surface with the long end in front of you. Brush the dough lightly with butter and sprinkle it with a teaspoon of bread crumbs. Working quickly, slide another sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first, brush it with butter, and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. (Use just enough bread crumbs so the layers of phyllo don’t stick together.) Pile 4 layers total on top of each other this way, brushing each with butter and sprinkling with bread crumbs. Cut the sheets of phyllo in half lengthwise. Place 1/3 cup spinach filling on the shorter end and roll the phyllo up diagonally as if folding a flag. Then fold the triangle of phyllo over straight and then diagonally again. Continue folding first diagonally and then straight until you reach the end of the sheet. The filling should be totally enclosed. Continue assembling phyllo layers and folding the filling until all of the filling is used. Place on a sheet pan, seam sides down. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with flaked salt, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and crisp. Serve hot.

This was so delicious that I instantly burned my tongue so bad that I had to suck on ice for the next 15 minutes. But it was WORTH IT!

Enjoy, friends! xoxo