16 Days of Glory: Part 3

Continuing the Olympic celebration, this next recipe was my favorite item of the night. Brought by a friend, it combines Asian flavors with phyllo dough for an interesting twist. These disappeared off the platter very quickly and would be a huge hit at a cocktail party!

Phyllo Asian Wraps

Adapted from "Flaky Siew Mai Crossiants," Asian Tapas: Small Bites, Big Flavors

For the wraps:

• Flour, for dusting
• 4 sheets frozen puff pastry (11x24in) or croissant dough, defrosted for 2 to 3 hours before using
• 1 egg white
• Black sesame seeds, to garnish

For the filling:

• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/2 lb ground chicken
• 2-3 fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, caps diced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder
• 1/2 tsp flour
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 400 F. Make the filling by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Set aside. Unroll each puff pastry or croissant dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into an 11x24 in rectangle, 1/8 in thick if necessary. Cut out approx 7 equilateral triangles, each with a base measuring 4 in, marking the base of the triangles along the length of the pastry sheet. Cut out a total of 25 triangles from the pastry sheets. Place 1 tbsp of the filling on the base of each triangle and roll the base over the filling, then roll up tightly into a cylinder, brushing the tip of the triangle with a bit of the egg white to seal. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Brush the top of each croissant with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in the oven at 400 F for 20 mins.

Makes 25 wraps.

Life Lesson: My friend used a package of puff pastry tarts, which were already pre-measured into small octagons, but had to be rolled out. As my friend says. "I would not recommend this... live and learn."