I could definitely sleep on top of those stuffed pillows, they’re warm and smell so good. For a long time, I didn’t like to manipulate filo dough, it was either drying too fast, or breaking, so I got annoyed with it and decided to leave it aside. Tant pis!

Then the idea of giving up, annoyed me even more…so I bought a pack of filo dough, and I decided to play with it…so far, the games were fun but I don’t seem to be able to finish the box 30 sheets of dough is quite a lot. It’s much lighter than puff pastry, then if you brush it with olive oil instead of butter, it’s even lighter!

I was reading an article on restaurant food, and it seems like fried food has never been that popular. So for those who like fried food, you can fry those pillows. Filo dough unlike puff pastry can be fried. I baked mine since I am still the “health nut” cook. One of the few things I like fried, is the fried green tomatoes I had once in a restaurant in the city. I can eat this once in a while, but I just don’t feel like frying it at home.

Fresh goat cheese tends to be bland, so I combined it with chives and garlic. When you bite on a crunchy pillow, the aroma of the cooked herbs comes out and you get a delightful sensation, melting cheese, crunchy filo and soft vegetables. Those are quick to prepare and cook, so they’re perfect to be served with a salad for a light lunch or as appetizer if you have unexpected guests.

Ingredients for 4 (2 each)

• 4 sheets filo dough
• 1/2 lb fava beans
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1/2 lb fresh goat cheese
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbs chives, chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut asparagus in 1 inch pieces and cook in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Remove beans from the pods and cook in boiling water for three minutes. Drain and remove the peel.

In a small cup mix goat cheese, chives and garlic.

Remove filo dough sheets from box. Lay one sheet flat on a working surface. Brush the sheet with olive oil. Place another sheet on top and cut to have four squares. Place 1 tbs of fava beans and 1 tbs of asparagus in the middle, add salt and pepper. Top it with goat cheese mixture. Bring each side towards the center to form small pillows. Proceed the same way with the rest of the sheets. Brush the top of the pillow with olive oil.

Bake in a non-stick sheet at 370 for about 10 minutes or until the pillows are golden and crunchy. Serve hot.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/10/get-a-pillow-and-take-a-nap-pillows-with-fava-beans-asparagus-and-feta/feed/ 21 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/02/monday-crisy-crisp-warm-mango-banana-and-pineapple-crisp-with-mascarpone-cream/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=monday-crisy-crisp-warm-mango-banana-and-pineapple-crisp-with-mascarpone-cream http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/02/monday-crisy-crisp-warm-mango-banana-and-pineapple-crisp-with-mascarpone-cream/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:11:59 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=6775 Le petit croustillant du lundi – Croustillant chaud de mangue, banane et ananas, crème au mascarpone

I adore filo dough but never use it. Do you believe it? I can drool over appetizers and desserts made with filo dough but when it’s time to buy it, I always forget or buy something else. So people would say, then you just don’t adore it. It’s like saying I adore this friend but I never call her, then you don’t love her that much. In French we use the word adore quite often and is not as strong as its equivalent in English. It’s used as Americans would use “I love”. J’adore la nutella!!

It’s a shame not to use filo dough more often because it’s lighter than its cousin “Puff Pastry”. It has a very delicate crispy texture, and makes beautiful sweet and savory dishes. One sheet has 30 calories and I used about one sheet per crisp if you want to keep completely light, you can just omit the mascarpone cream, but I would not recommend it, it completes the crisp to perfection.

The particularity of this filo dough is that it’s wholewheat, so basically, you’ll get a light dessert, extremely tasty, warm and crispy that will satisfy any sweet cravings. My other “secret” ingredient is vanilla powder, which I adore, oui j’adore la poudre de vanille!!!! I almost use it in all my desserts. It’s vanilla bean ground that is perfect to replace the actual vanilla bean.

The combination of mango and banana’s textures complete one another, also pineapple adds a little extra exotic touch to the crisp. You need to select fruits that are not too ripe, or in the sauté process, especially the banana and mangoes will get mushy.

You can serve it warm at room temperature or lukewarm, then you need to serve it immediately or the cream will start melting.

Ingredients for 3 crisps

• 1/4 pineapple, cut in small sliced (1 inch size)
• 1 mango, peeled and cut in small slices (1 inch size)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 3 whole wheat filo dough sheets, cut in 6 squares
• 1 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs mascarpone
• 2.7 fl oz (or 80 ml) heavy cream
• vanilla powder
• 1 tsp powder sugar
• 1 tsp butter + 1 tsp melted for the filo dough

Preparation

Cut all the fruits, add sugar and saute in butter for about 5-7 minutes. remove from the pan.

Using a brush, apply melted butter in one filo dough sheet, then cut dough in 6 identical squares.

Place the 6 squares in a ramequin or small muffin trays (then insted of 3 crisp, you’ll make 6 due to the smaller size of the muffin trays). Divide fruits in each ramequin and cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 15-20 minutes or until the filo dough is golden brown.

remove from the oven and let it cool.

Whip heavy cream and add powder sugar at the end, add mascarpone and keep beating a little more. Add vanilla bean powder.

Serve each crisp with one tsp of mascarpone cream on top.