First Time with Phyllo

As much as I love it's flaky crunch, I've never actually cooked with phyllo. Today, I decided to change that. I picked up some stewing beef, mushrooms and phyllo sheets with the idea of doing some kind of pie.

I made a few missteps, but in the end, it turned out alright. The cloth I laid the pastry on was a bit too damp, so the bottom layer got too soft and stuck to the cloth. No harm done. There were enough other layers to make it work. It could have used a bit more of the gravy, but was pretty tasty overall. And the pastry itself was perfect - golden goodness.

Beef in Phyllo

Ingredients

• 1 lb stewing beef, cut into 1 inch pieces


• ¼ lb white mushrooms, sliced


• ¼ large onion, chopped


• 1/2 c red wine


• 1 tsp minced garlic


• 3 Tbsp whole grain mustard


• a healthy grind of PC Steak Spice Blend


• 3 Tbsp PC brand Buffalo Wing Hot Sauce


• 1 Tbsp flour


• 4-5 sheets of phyllo pastry


• ¼ C melted butter or margerine

Method

Defrost the phyllo pastry for at least 2 hours. While that's defrosting, marinate the beef cubes with the wine, garlic, mustard, spice blend and hot sauce.

Once the pastry has defrosted, sautee the onions and mushrooms until they just start to get tender. Remove from the pan and set aside. brown the beef pieces. Add the flour to the marinating liquid and blend until smooth. Pour that mixture, and the reserved mushroom and onion, into the pan with the beef and cook for 10 more minutes. If the gravy starts to get too thick, just add more liquid. Remove from heat.

Taking one sheet of phyllo and place onto a barely damp cloth. Brush lightly with melted butter. On top of that layer, add 3 more sheets, buttering each layer. Place half the beef/mushroom mixture onto one end of the final layer and spread out almost to the side edges. Gently fold the the pastry over the beef and keep turning until you've completely folded it around. Brush the entire outside with butter, using it to seal the edges. Fold the edges up to further secure the meat mixture inside the pastry. Transfer the envelope onto a cookie sheet and back at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.