It’s Monday, and, as such, I am creating tonight’s tapas menu. While doing this, I realized that I had published only one of the two recipes that I created for our menu two weeks ago. Having already shared the recipe for Eggplant Rolls, it certainly is time to share the recipe for Greek Pockets.
I made this dish with the intention of creating a fairly simple item for our dinner that had an assortment of Greek ingredients. Lamb sausage seemed like the perfect main ingredient for this dish. The bigger question was how to deliver the lamb sausage. For me, the obvious answer was: wrap it in phyllo dough.
While a crisp pastry filled with meat alone would delight my husband, that sounded a bit heavy for me. So, it was time to choose other ingredients that would accent the lamb and please both of our palates. Chopped spinach seemed like a simple way to lighten the dish a little, and feta cheese would give additional flavor and saltiness to the dish. With that, we had a terrific dish.
These are best when you eat them within minutes of removing from the oven. Although they’re hot, they have a wonderful crunch, and the cheese has a delightfully soft consistency. As we devoured ours in little time, I am not certain how they would be if they sat for an hour. While they would taste just as good, I would miss those soft and crunchy textures.
- 3/4 pound bulk lamb sausage
- 5 ounces frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
- 4 ounces feta cheese
- 6 sheets phyllo dough, defrosted
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- Heat large frying pan over medium.
- Add sausage, and cook thoroughly.
- Transfer cooked sausage to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess grease, and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Combine cooled sausage, spinach, and feta in a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a clean, flat surface (such as a cutting board), and brush with a small amount of butter.
- Top with a second piece of phyllo dough.
- Roll remaining sheets in their packaging, so they do not become dry.
- Brush top sheet with butter.
- Cut sheets in half lengthwise.
- Place 1/3 cup of sausage mixture in the center of each phyllo dough piece.
- Fold two parallel sides into center.
- Then fold two remaining parallel sides into center, so that filling is fully encased. (A little melted butter can be used to keep phyllo in place.)
- Repeat with 4 remaining sheets.
- Place packets on baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until phyllo dough is golden brown.
