These VEGETARIAN PHYLLO POUCHES are an excellent appetizer or main course, absolutely tasty and delicious. With oven baking they are also lighter and more digestible. Served with raw vegetables they are at their best.
Phyllo pastry, or phyllo, from the Greek meaning “leaf”, is a variety of puff pastry prepared in very thin separate sheets. The artisanal technique is truly spectacular.
It is characterized by very short cooking times: it is used fried or baked in the oven to prepare the most varied haute cuisine dishes and can replace wrappers in many rolled dishes from various world cuisines. Due to its extreme versatility it has found innovative and varied use also in Italian cuisine.
It is produced without added fats, unlike common puff pastries. The taste is neutral to ensure its use in both sweet and savory preparations.
Traditionally and historically it is used throughout the Middle East and the Balkan peninsula for sweets filled with walnuts and pistachios soaked in honey or sugar syrup, such as baklava.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 Servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3.5 oz phyllo pastry
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 carrot (large)
- 1 zucchini (large)
- 3.5 oz button mushrooms
- 3.5 oz soybean sprouts
- 2 spring onions (scallions) (fresh)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 6 drops Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- 3 tbsp butter (for sealing the phyllo pastry)
Tools
- 1 Pan
- 1 Brush
- 1 Baking pan
- Parchment paper
Steps
Prepare the filling for the spring rolls. Peel the carrots, wash the zucchini, spring onion and bell pepper.
Cut the spring onion, carrots, zucchini and bell pepper into thin strips. Pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil into the wok and start sautéing the spring onion and carrots for 5 minutes.
Add the bell pepper. Sauté over high heat until it softens while remaining crisp.
Then add the zucchini and mushrooms and season with salt. Continue cooking over high heat for about ten minutes.
A few minutes before the end of cooking, add the soybean sprouts and deglaze with the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
Let the vegetables cool slightly. In the meantime, cut 16 rectangles from the phyllo pastry, approximately 4 x 6 inches in size.
Lay a first sheet of phyllo pastry on a work surface and brush it with melted butter from the microwave or a small saucepan.
Place the second sheet on top and brush that one as well; proceed the same way with the third and fourth sheets.
Place a spoonful of vegetables on one short side of the phyllo rectangle.
Fold the long sides of the rectangle inward to prevent the filling from spilling out. Roll the roll from the side with the filling.
Line a rectangular baking pan with parchment paper. Place the pouches on it, seam side down.Bake the vegetarian phyllo pouches in a hot oven, 428°F for about 10 minutes or until they are nicely golden.
