Lemon and Ricotta Sweet Cheese Pastries


A short and sweet post today as I'm up to my ears with unexpected freelance work and freaky deadlines this week.
Luckily I have these beautiful little sugar pastries to keep me happy!

They're so quick and easy to make and although they might not be the most nutritionally-packed things you could shovel into your mouth, they certainly make a good stress reliever!

I've very loosely based the recipe of these little cuties on a traditional Greek recipe for "Melitinia" which are small, sweet tarts filled with a soft cheese and baked. My version uses filo pastry, is deep fried, and totally addictive.


Lemon and Ricotta Sweet Cheese Pastries


Makes about 40

Ingredients

  • 300g ricotta cheese
  • 1 packet of filo pastry
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 100g castor sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • Oil for deep frying
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

  1. Place the ricotta, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, egg, castor sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon to combine.
  2. Using a round cookie cutter, approximately 10cm diameter, cut the filo pastry into circles.
  3. Spoon about of teaspoon of the cheese mixture onto one half of each pastry round.
  4. Moisten the edges of the pastry with a little water, fold in half and press to seal.
  5. To make them pretty, use a crimped pastry wheel to trim the edges and create a ruffled edge.
  6. Deep fry the pastries in oil until puffed and golden, around 2 or 3 minutes, then drain on paper towels.

These little babies are best eaten when warm, dusted with icing sugar and lemon zest. Mine have now gone cold and a little soggy but I'm still more than happy to keep shovelling them into my mouth!



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