PHYLLO PASTRY BASKETS WITH TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA
Here’s a simple idea for a tasty appetizer to bring to the table as perfect finger food for festive tables: PHYLLO PASTRY BASKETS filled with tomatoes and mozzarella.
An easy and versatile recipe that you can prepare in many different versions to quickly solve appetizers and snacks, of course, you can fill them according to your taste, as you prefer, or following the seasonality with vegetables paired with cheeses or cold cuts-
For those who don’t know it yet, Phyllo (Fillo) Pastry is a basic preparation of Mediterranean cuisine, a kind of puff pastry but without butter, which comes in the form of very thin, almost transparent sheets, which are layered and after oven cooking become super crispy.
You could also prepare it at home, but I recommend buying the ready-made packages in the refrigerator section of the supermarket, both because you save a lot of time and because it would be quite difficult to achieve such thinness by hand.
Today I decided to fill the Phyllo Pastry baskets with fresh tomatoes diced and lightly seasoned with oil, salt, and oregano and diced Mozzarella for a super crunchy result on the outside and fresh but cheesy on the inside.
You just need to assemble all the ingredients and bake in a few minutes a delicious and super crunchy appetizer, practical and convenient to eat in one bite, ideal for stand-up dinners, buffets, and aperitifs.
And don’t forget that you can also create sweet versions to offer as a dessert, for example, with custard and fresh fruit, or hazelnut cream and granules.
For more ideas with phyllo pastry also check out these recipes
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 146.74 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 3.38 (g) of which sugars 0.68 (g)
- Proteins 7.37 (g)
- Fat 11.81 (g) of which saturated 5.06 (g)of which unsaturated 2.43 (g)
- Fibers 0.56 (g)
- Sodium 359.12 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 6 sheets phyllo pastry
- 2 tomatoes
- 4.4 oz mozzarella
- dried oregano (optional)
- as needed salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (+ for brushing phyllo pastry)
Tools
- Bowl
- Baking tray
Steps
First, wash the tomatoes, slice them and then cut into small cubes. Drain any excess liquid, then season with a pinch of salt, oil, and a sprinkle of oregano. Take the mozzarella and also cut it into very small pieces.
Phyllo (pyllo) pastry packages usually contain 12 rectangular sheets, you will only need half (so 6) with which you should be able to make 9 baskets. Cut each sheet of dough into 6 squares about 4-5 inches per side. I usually cut it with a pair of scissors for a sharper and more precise cut, but a knife works too.
Grease a muffin tin with some oil or melted butter, and place 1 square of phyllo pastry in each cavity, making it adhere to the bottom. Brush the inside with oil. Overlap a second square of dough on each, staggered (or aligned if you prefer) and make it adhere by brushing with more oil.
Fill with the seasoned tomatoes and previously cut mozzarella. Bake at 392°F for about 10-15 minutes. They should become nicely golden. Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly. Serve the phyllo pastry baskets with mozzarella and tomatoes warm, adding basil leaves as decoration.
NOTES
PHYLLO PASTRY: You can buy it in the refrigerated section of the supermarket, usually next to the puff pastry. You can replace it with puff pastry or shortcrust pastry, but you will not achieve an equally crispy and light result.
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: I used oil to brush the phyllo pastry sheets, but you can replace it with melted butter.
MOZZARELLA: After cutting the mozzarella, leave it on a plate for a couple of minutes to drain any liquid that might overly moisten the phyllo pastry. You can replace it, for example, with Provola or other melting cheese.
TOMATOES: Use your preferred tomatoes based on seasonality. For a “sweeter” taste, I recommend cherry tomatoes, just cut them into quarters.
VARIATIONS To make savory filled phyllo pastry baskets, you can combine cold cuts, cheeses, and vegetables. For example, the combination of onion jam and brie is excellent. If you want sweet variations, they can be filled with chocolate cream or custard and decorated with fresh or dried fruit.
STORAGE
The Phyllo Pastry Baskets with Tomatoes and Mozzarella should be consumed immediately once ready, while still warm to not compromise their crunchiness. If you have leftovers, they can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days, in an airtight container. Before eating them again, I recommend warming them slightly in a conventional oven to regain the crispness of the shell (a microwave oven would make it even softer).
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How fatty is phyllo pastry?
100 grams of phyllo pastry contain about 300 calories and 6 grams of fat. Phyllo pastry is low in cholesterol (0 mg) and high in sodium (483 mg) with a protein content of 7 grams per 100 grams of product.
How many phyllo pastry sheets are in a package?
A package of Phyllo Pastry usually contains 12 to 14 sheets. Phyllo pastry, or phyllo, from the Greek meaning “leaf”, is a variety of puff pastry prepared in extremely thin separate sheets. Extremely versatile, it features short cooking times.
What is the difference between puff pastry and phyllo pastry?
People often confuse phyllo pastry with puff pastry. The main difference is that phyllo pastry does not contain butter, but oil, making it lighter. Moreover, thanks to extremely thin layers placed on top of each other, its cooking is extremely fast.
