Packages of Fig and Chèvre

Okay, I have to share a nummy, simple recipe with everyone. I'm not sure where and when fresh figs are available to everyone, but I just checked my blog stats today, and I apparently have readers in 34 countries! Even if half were accidental hits or spammers, that leaves 17 countries, a few of which must have figs.


Last month my friend Claire and I stopped to eat at a little restaraunt near my apartment called Viktor on Place des Trois Ormeaux.  I had been there before with some friends where we all sampled a different salad. All of them were top notch. Which means one should always test again to be extra sure. I mean, when it comes to FOOD, I need to be extra sure. So we stopped in for lunch and both ordered the intriguing sounding salad with packets of chevre and figs. Whatever that might be! And one bite of these warm, bundles of melted goat's cheese and sweet figs and we were ooing and ahhing. 


Last week a friend gave me a box of figs from her tree. And as it happened, I actually had chevre in the fridge and a package of phyllo pastry in the freezer. There was no choice. The kitchen called.  And these were so simple!

So here we go. This is what you need:

Phyllo pastry (Filo)

butter

fresh figs

Chevre (goat's cheese)

sea salt

I love working with phyllo pastry. It's simple but if you've never done it, I'll walk you through it.


First important step is to thaw it properly. Leave it in the box and thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you let it thaw too quickly, it will get doughy and stick together. Once thawed, open the package, unroll the stack of paper thin layers of and cover them with a cloth just SLIGHTLY moistened. This keeps the layers from drying out at which point they're unusable. Carefully lay the first layer on the board or counter and brush with a light layer of melted butter. Gently pull another layer off the pile and cover the buttered sheet (keep the rest covered as you work). Don't worry if the sheets tear.  Just piece them back together and all will be well. I promise. Continue the process with as many layers as needed. For this recipe, I only used 5 layers. When you're finished, roll up the extra leaves, put them back in the package they came in, wrap with plastic wrap and put them back in the freezer.

Cut the dough into squares, about 4" by 4". In the center of each square, place a slice of fresh fig, a slice of chevre and sprinkle it with sea salt. Not too much. Just enough to pop the flavors.

Fold the dough around the filling like a little package and place them on a baking sheet, smooth side up. Brush a little melted butter and the top and pop them into a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. 

okay...the pan looks dirty...because it was. I was on batch number 2! And yes, you can take a little more time to make the packets look neater. Taking pretty photos for this blog was not my top priority at this moment.

That's it! C'est tout!

Serve these warm as an appetizer (apero or entre) or as we ate them, atop a mixed baby green salad dressed with a light balsamic vinaigrette. In the interest of taking photos, which I still haven't mastered, I ate TONS of these. Oh how I suffer! All I need is one little remark about how bad these photos are, and I'm going to have to do it all over again... until I get it right!

Bon Appetit!