Filo parcels are small triangles or packets filled with sweet or savory ingredients, encased in thin layers of filo pastry. The pastry is made from flour, oil, vinegar, and water, rolled into thin sheets and layered with butter before being filled and baked. Baklava is a popular dessert made with filo pastry.
Filo parcels are small triangles or filling packets encased in filo, also known as phyllo or phyllo, pastry. Puff pastry is very thin and several layers are usually used in creating a filo pack. The filling can be savory or sweet, and sweets are popular in Mediterranean, Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisine.
The Greek word phyllo means “leaf” in English. Filo pasta is made from all-purpose flour, water, a little oil and white vinegar or a little raki, the Greek version of Italian grappa. The flour is first mixed with oil and vinegar and then water is added if necessary. The dough must be elastic, soft and pliable. The dough is then rolled up and stretched into a large sheet of thin paper. If handmade, the sheets will likely be thicker than the store-bought variety. You can also use a pasta machine.
Once the desired thinness has been obtained, the thread packs can be made. As the dough dries quickly, any unworked dough should be covered with wax paper or parchment paper and a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel. Most filo parcel recipes call for the sheets to be layered after brushing on melted margarine or butter.
After the filo dough has been layered, it’s time to cut out the desired shapes and add the filling. Filo triangles filled with feta and spinach, known as spanakopita in Greece, are a favorite but the pockets can be filled with just about any filling, sweet or savoury. Fruits, tofu, cheeses, meats and vegetables are also possible fillings. To form a triangle, the layered, buttered dough is cut along the long edge into 3-inch (6 cm) strips. The filling is placed at the bottom then folded as if folding a flag. By the time the other end of the strip is reached, the filling has been encased in several folds of dough. This is then brushed with butter and baked until golden brown.
Baklava is probably the most famous pastry baked in phyllo dough. This may be cooked in a whole pan or the ground nuts, usually pistachios or walnuts, and the cinnamon may be enclosed in floss parcels and dunked in sweet sugar-based syrup after cooking. Small strudels can also be made using fruits such as pears and apples. Filo parcels can be eaten hot or cold and are commonly used in Greece as finger foods, appetizers and lunch fillers. Larger spanakopites or tiropitis made with cheese are popular snacks.
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