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A Very Merry Festive Feast

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Tips and tricks for perfectly crunchy phyllo tarts

What’s the deal with phyllo pastry?
As delicious as it is, phyllo or ‘filo’ pastry is actually made from just three humble
ingredients: flour, water and a little oil. Although the word ‘phyllo’ is Greek for ‘leaf’, the
pastry is thought to have been invented in Turkey. It’s traditionally used in Middle Eastern
and Mediterranean cuisine and is a key ingredient in a huge number of sweet or savoury
delights, from baklava to banitsa and even samoosas.

Get clever with store-bought pastry
You can make your own phyllo pastry, but unless you’re a guru in the kitchen, it’s very time-
consuming and can be difficult to get right. So, if you’re not yet a master chef and don’t have
oodles of time, save yourself the hassle and buy it readymade (shh!). This will also free you

up to focus on all the scrumptiously varied toppings and fillings you can add to make it look
pretty and taste even better.

Most supermarkets sell frozen rather than fresh phyllo pastry. To get top results, defrost the
pastry (still in its box) overnight in the fridge before using it. To calculate how much you

need, work on 12 cups for every two large sheets of pastry. So, a 500g box of phyllo (8-10
sheets) is plenty to make starters for 12 people.

Be gentle
Phyllo is a very fragile pastry that tears easily, so handle it like a fine piece of china. Use a

pastry cutter or the sharpest knife you have to cut it into the shape you’d like. In the video
tutorial you’ll see that Franck cuts the phyllo into squares, but a circular shape works
beautifully too.

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