I found a great deal on phyllo dough and bought some thinking I'd make something delicious with it. It sat in my freezer for a month until I ran into some gorgeous and well-priced heirloom tomatoes. That is when inspiration struck. What if I turned traditional caprese into a spanikopita-like handpie? I warned my husband that I was experimenting for dinner. Yes, sometimes I fail and I was worried on this one. Some quick googling warned me that it isn't a common thing to do. I ventured off into the somewhat unknown and played around with combining phyllo and caprese. The result was a delightful little hand pie with those clean flavors of bold tomato,creamy mozzarella, and sweet basil. Drizzled or dipped into a little balsamic vinegar for that bright acidic element and you have yourself one tasty little caprese pastry. Simple. Delicious.
Ingredients
1 package phyllo dough, thawed
1/2 cup melted butter
3 large tomatoes, sliced
1 large fresh mozzarella ball, sliced
Large handful fresh basil leaves
Salt and Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
1. First off, read the instructions that come on the package of phyllo dough. Know how to prevent your dough from drying out.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Working with about 4 sheets at a time, lay out the sheets so that the longest side of the rectangle is parallel to the edge of the counter. Brush the top with a little melted butter. Use a sharp knife to cut it down the middle in half.
4. Lay out 3 slices of tomato and 2 or 3 slices of mozzarella in the center of each half. Season with salt and pepper and toss a few basil leaves on there. Fold in the sides over the filling, brush with melted butter, then fold the top and bottoms halves in brushing them with melted butter as well. Turn over to place the folds down on the bottom of the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with melted butter so that all of the exposed phyllo dough has been buttered.
5. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and filling ingredients.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and serve hot drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
