phyllo wrapped feta with hot honey
Sometimes when I’m planning a dinner party menu and I have already chosen to make a bunch of items that require a ton time to prep and I still need to add something easy that everyone will like and even vegetarian can eat, I chose these little delightful bites. This is not gluten free or dairy free, so not everyone, but people who like to eat will love this.
Notes:
You can prep this ahead of time, no more than 2 hours, wrap with plastic on the sheet pan you’re going to bake them on and bake them 10 minutes before your guests arrive. They need to cool for at least three minutes or you will have pizza roll flash backs.
Feta works here because it does not melt. This recipe calls for the firmest whole block feta you can find, I’ve never tried crumbled, but I imagine it would still work if it was very dry. The sheeps’ milk and Bulgarian feta varieties are too wet and creamy for this, I would advise against it. I cannot speak to whether or not plant-based fetas work in this recipe, but I love this journey for you. If can’t find feta for some reason, you can substitute will halloumi but it will be very firm and has a little squeek when you bite into it.
My favorite feta to use in this recipe is this one from Bel Fiore .
Ingredients
1 roll of frozen phyllo dough
1 block feta cheese in the brine
olive oil
black and white sesame seeds
hot honey
Method
Drain an pat the feta dry with a paper towel on a cutting board and cut into 1 sq cm wide sticks that are as long as the block, about finger sized. Set aside and dry your cutting board off.
Cut the sheets of phyllo dough long ways down the center so you have long wide strips, set aside and cover with a piece of plastic wrap so they don’t dry out while you work.
Place one strip of phyllo dough on the cutting board and completely brush with olive oil on one side
Place one piece of feta at the end and roll up until the end, rolling in the edges as you go out just at the end is fine, It all comes out the same. Place your finished phyllo wrapped feta mummies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Repeat step 4 until you run out of feta fingers to wrap.
Brush the tops of all the wrapped feta cigar with olive oil and sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds
Bake immediately at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (or wait if you need to, see note above) for about 10 minutes on convection and a little bit longer if using the conventional bake setting. Pull the tray from the oven when the phyllo is puffing and golden brown and delicious looking. You need watch it when it gets close.
Let it cool on the sheet tray for a second and cut in half if you want (sometimes I don’t) and squirt a little dot of hot honey on each one before transferring to a serving platter. Try not to eat too many before dinner.
