Cheese-Filled
Pastries (Boyo de Queso) - Greek
Island: Rhodes
Source:
The Sephardic Table by Pamela Grau
Twena |
Ingredients:
-
1 pound hoop cheese or another semi-soft
cheese such as ricotta or pot cheese
-
1 pound feta cheese
-
1 cup mashed potatoes
-
2 large eggs
-
1 16-ounce package filo dough (found in the
frozen-food section)
-
8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine or butter,
melted
Makes 80 pastries. |
 To make the filling: Blend all the filling
ingredients together in a food processor
fitted with
the metal blade or by hand in a
large bowl to make a smooth paste.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly
grease 2 cookie sheets.
The trick to this recipe is in the handling
of the filo dough. Cut the stack of filo
leaves in half lengthwise and then in half
again. Work with 1 stack at a time, forming
each pastry on the top of the stack. Cover
the stacks you are not using with a damp
clean dish towel so that they do not become
dry or brittle.
With a pastry brush, lightly brush the top
of 1 piece of filo with melted margarine or
butter, then turn it over so that it adheres
to the piece below it. Place 1 teaspoon of
filling in the center, 1 inch from the top
of one end of the sheet, and spread it
across to form a horizontal line. Do not
overstuff the pastries or they will burst.
Carefully roll up the pastry sheet from the
filling end to make a small cigar-shaped
pastry. Repeat until all pastry sheets are
used and there is no more filling.
Transfer the pastries to the cookie sheets
and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.
|
|
Note: Hoop
cheese is similar to farmer's cheese in that
it is a dry cottage cheese; however hoop
cheese is made from milk alone while
farmer's cheese is made with milk, cream and
salt. |
|
Greece --
Pastry --
Shavuot |
|
Cooking Tips:
These pastries can be made ahead and frozen. Follow the recipe
up to the point of baking the pastries; at which time they
should be frozen. Let the pastries thaw for 30 minutes before
baking. |
