Monday, May 5, 2014

(Scallop) Asparagus & Pesto Purses



It took me until two days ago to read the recipe for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie baking group.  I think I was intimidated by the title of this recipe.  Any food item that was supposed to look like or function like a purse, sounded difficult and perhaps impossible for my novice skills.

And then I read the recipe.  Simple.  One page recipe.  Six ingredients.  Never mind that one of those ingredients was phyllo dough, I could do this.

The idea is to make a purse of phyllo dough filled with scallops and pesto.  The enclosure traps the steam as it bakes and cooks the scallop.  Since I am a vegetarian, I substituted fresh (yea!) asparagus for the scallops and added a sprinkle of goat cheese and lemon zest.   I also ignored the step in the recipe instructing us to tie each little purse with string prior to baking.   (That would have made this recipe not-so-simple.  Phyllo dough and I are not such great friends and tying it up string sounds like a battle I would have lost.  Furthermore, it brings back a memory as a child, watching my mom come to tears over a phyllo dough recipe she was baking for a 'gourmet club'.  Maybe that is the origin of our animosity.)

They turned out surprisingly amazing.  We ate them within 3 minutes.  Seriously.

These purses are meant to be served as appetizers.  They can be made earlier in the day, chilled in the fridge and baked immediately prior to serving.  Brilliant for entertaining.

Check out my fellow bloggers account of this recipe at Tuesday with Dorie.




And Rhiannon...



5 comments:

  1. The asparagus version sounds really delicious.
    Phyllo can be pretty scary to work with at times - it is definitely too fragile for my clumsy self!

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  2. Ooooh, I love your variation!

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  3. sounds delicious, and looks like Rhiannon thinks so, too!

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  4. Your purses look great, and your filling sounds delightful!

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  5. Love your idea to add lemon zest! Great looking purses!

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