Phyllo Pastry With Fresh Figs And Ricotta Recipes

RICOTTA FILO CAKE

Steps:

• Set the oven at 350°F/180°C/Gas 4. Melt the butter in a small pan. Place a baking sheet in the oven. Line the tart tin with a double sheet of filo, letting it fall over the edges. Brush with some of the butter, then continue with all the sheets of filo, letting the pastry overhang the tin where necessary and generously brushing them with butter as you go.
• Put the ricotta, eggs, egg yolks, honey, cinnamon and granulated sugar into the bowl of a food mixer and combine to a smooth cream. Fold in the candied peel, raisins, finely grated citrus zest, flour, a capful of vanilla extract and, lastly, the ground almonds. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into the lined tin, smooth flat, then gently fold the overhanging pastry sheets to the middle, curling them over as you go to make loose rosettes of pastry. Bake for forty to fifty minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the filling lightly firm to the touch.
• To finish:
• Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Melt the honey in a small saucepan, stir in the candied peel, then spoon over the pastry. Dust with icing sugar and leave to cool before slicing.

MILLEFEUILLE OF FRESH FIGS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Brush a large, shallow baking sheet with some butter and lay 1 phyllo sheet on top. (Cover remaining phyllo with a damp cloth.) Brush phyllo with butter and sprinkle on 1 teaspoon sugar. Layer another phyllo sheet on top and press down. Repeat layering until you use all sheets, ending with 1 teaspoon sugar on top. Cut phyllo stack into 32 equal squares. Bake until squares are golden brown and crisp, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Mix ricotta, sugar, lemon zest and a pinch of salt; add lemon juice to taste. Sauce: Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan; continue to boil until reduced and slightly syrupy, 5 to 7 minutes. Assembly: Place a dab of ricotta mix on a plate. Top with 1 phyllo square, 1 tbsp ricotta and fig slices. Repeat for a total of 4 layers. Sprinkle with black pepper. Drizzle plate with balsamic reduction and scatter pine nuts around. Repeat.

PHYLLO PASTRY WITH FRESH FIGS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, lemon zest and juice, almond extract and sugar. Stir well and set aside.
• Lay 1 sheet phyllo dough horizontally on a flat surface. Brush lightly with butter. Fold phyllo in half, left to right, and brush the top lightly with butter. Then fold phyllo in half, top to bottom, and brush the top lightly with butter again. Fold once more, left to right. You should have a 4-by-6-inch rectangle. Brush top with butter and trim edges. Repeat with remaining 5 sheets phyllo, using 2 tablespoons butter per pastry. Lay pastry packages on a parchment-lined baking sheet and heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Spread each pastry package with a generous tablespoon of ricotta filling. Snip stems from figs and open them into star shapes by cutting from stem end in quarters, nearly to the bottom of the fig. Top each pastry package with 2 figs. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over each package.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove from oven, sprinkle with chopped almonds and drizzle lightly with honey. Serve at room temperature. If desired, cut pastries in half to make 12 small servings.

PHYLLO RICOTTA TORTE WITH SPRING HERBS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, ricotta salata, pecorino Romano, eggs, herbs and pepper.
• Brush Bundt pan with some of the melted butter. Drape 2 sheets of phyllo on top of Bundt pan, poke a hole into phyllo where center tube is and push phyllo into pan to line it. Do this with 2 more sheets placed perpendicular to the first 2 sheets. Continue adding phyllo sheets in this crisscross manner until all sheets are used. Edges of phyllo should hang over edges of pan.
• Scrape half of the ricotta filling into pan. Scatter prosciutto over ricotta, then top with mozzarella. Spoon the rest of the ricotta mixture on top. Fold edges of phyllo over filling. Using a sharp knife, poke at least 20 holes in dough that reach all the way to bottom of pan. Slowly pour melted butter over torte; some butter will seep through holes and some will remain on top of dough.
• Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour 30 minutes, or until torte is puffy and golden brown. Allow torte to cool in pan for 1 to 2 hours before inverting onto a wire rack and slicing. Serve warm.

PHYLLO TARTS WITH RICOTTA AND RASPBERRIES

Steps:

• Drain ricotta cheese in a sieve for 20 minutes; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 6 3-inch loose-bottomed tart pans with nonfat cooking spray.
• Leave phyllo sheets in a stack and use a ruler to trace 6 5-inch squares onto top sheet (3 squares across and 2 squares down). Using a sharp knife, cut along traced lines, through all 5 sheets of dough. Immediately line each tart pan with 5 sheets of dough, lightly brushing melted butter or margarine between each layer. Trim edges of dough.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, sugar, egg, orange rind, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Pour an equal amount of mixture into each tart pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown. Cool tarts slightly, then arrange raspberries on top. To serve, remove tarts from pans and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

HOMEMADE PHYLLO PASTRY

Steps:

• Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl and add the water with oil.
• Stir until forms soft dough, then knead in the bowl about 10 minutes.
• Dough will feel sticky at first, but kneading, it should develop into a dough that becomes smooth and satiny.
• When well mixed and smooth, wrap pastry in plastic wrap and leave it to rest at room temperature about one hour.
• If not all the dough is being used right away, wrap the unused portion and keep chilled in fridge up to a week.
• Always bring to room temp before using.
• Divide the pastry into 12 equal portions, shaping them into smooth balls.
• Cover with a cloth, except the one you're working with.
• Take a ball of dough, and shape it into a square.
• Place it on a lightly floured surface, and roll into a 6 inch square using rolling pin.
• Dust again with flour.
• Take the dowel, and place on one end of the pastry, and roll neatly onto the dowel, pressing firmly as you do so.
• Keep hands on each side of the pastry.
• Unroll the pastry and dust the work surface and pastry with a little flour, and roll up again from opposite side as before, exerting pressure as you go.
• Unroll carefully.
• After second rolling, the pastry should be about 10x12 inches.
• Using the back of your hands, place them under the pastry and stretch gently, moving hands to keep it even, working toward the edges.
• The edges can be given a final stretch with the fingertips.
• You should wind up with a pastry that's 14x18 inches in size.
• Place on a cloth, cover with wax paper and fold the cloth over the top.
• Repeat the above process with remaining dough balls, laying each on top of the previous one with wax paper between them.
• Use soon after making as they'll go sour if you keep them too long.
• If desired, you can roll them out more thinly.
• Repeating the dowel rolling process more will result in a thinner square each time.
• Phyllo can be used like a puff pastry when thicker, or it's wonderful in baklawa, lamb pastries, or many other mid eastern sweets when rolled very thin.
• In Greece, they'll often use phyllo as a crust for certain types of pies, such as spinach.