Goat Cheese Phyllo Purses

Elegant phyllo purses filled with tangy goat cheese and bacon.

The menu is outstanding. I chose to make Phyllo Purses, or you might know them as Beggar’s Purses: an oozy goat cheese filling wrapped up with a few layers of delicate, crispy phyllo dough. And butter. Where there is phyllo, there is butter!

Goat Cheese Phyllo Purses

Yields: 
8 purses

Estimated time: 
30 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 oz goat cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp chives, chopped
• 4 slices of pancetta or bacon, cooked to a crisp (prosciutto is good, it's just not crispy)
• black pepper
• 6 sheets of phyllo dough
• 6-8 Tbsp of melted butter
• Chives or strips of the tops of green onions for tying

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Stir together goat cheese, chives, crumbled bacon, and a few grinds of black pepper in a small bowl. If the goat cheese is too hard, put it in the microwave for 10 seconds.
3. Unroll the phyllo dough onto a dry surface. Remove 1 sheet of phyllo dough and place it on a dry surface (I put a sheet of wax paper between the dough and countertop).
4. Brush the entire top of the sheet with melted butter.
5. Top with another sheet of phyllo and brush the top of it with melted butter.
6. Repeat with one more sheet of phyllo. Cut the stack into 4 equal rectangles.
7. Place a golf ball-sized filling onto the center of each piece of dough. Gather the sides into a pouch and form a purse, pinching the gathered dough.
8. Tie a chive or a strip of green onion around the gathered dough.
9. Place the purse onto a lined baking sheet and lightly brush with melted butter.
10. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the phyllo purse tops are golden brown and crispy.
11. Remove from oven and let cool. Serve warm or room temperature