Spiced Cigars

[Dejah]

Spiced Cigars

Serves 36 as Appetizer.

This is a recipe by Bonnie Stern as posted in The National Post, on a Saturday in one of the "ber" months in 2003. I think the book may have been called Eating In. I still have the photo of her cigars, which do not look like mine, but the instruction portion of the paper is nowhere to be found:-(

I have made these often, then freezing them individually and storing them in freezer bags.

They are quick to finish off in the oven and make for something entirely different to take to potluck.

• 1 T olive oil
  
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
  
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  
• 1 tsp EACH of ground cumin and paprika
  
• 1/4 tsp EACH of cayenne pepper and cinnamon
  
• 1 lb lean ground beef (see ****)
  
• 2/3 c tomato sauce
  
• 1 tsp salt to taste
  
• 1 egg beaten
  
• 1 T liquid honey
  
• 3/4 c dry fine breadcrumbs
  
• 12 sheets phyllo pastry
  
• 1/2 c melted butter or olive oil
  
• 2 T toasted sesame seeds
  

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic. Cook a few minutes until tender.

Add spices. Cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add beef. Cook until meat looses its raw appearance.

Add tomato sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste.

Transfer to a bowl. Cool. Add beaten egg, honey,and half of the breadcrumbs.

Check for seasoning again.

2. Take the phyllo pastry out of the package and cut the stack of 12 sheets into thirds crosswise so that each strip is about 12” x 5”. Cover with plastic wrap and then a damp cloth.

3. Work with one or 2 pieces of phyllo at a time. Arrange the pastry in a single layer on your work surface. Have olive oil or melted butter and a pastry brush at hand.

Brush oil/butter over the phyllo and sprinkle with bread crumbs. (I used a lot more than 1/2 cup butter! Ghee works well.)

4. Form about 1 tbsp. of the filling into a log about 3” long and place it the center at the bottom of the strip of phyllo. Fold the side edges over the filling then roll up in shape of a cigar.

( With practice, you can place one stack of several sheets on the work surface and do step 4 with each sheet. This saves having to take a new sheet out each time.)

Arrange the cigars on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top with oil/butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

5. Bake in a preheated oven 400F/200C oven for 20 minutes until brown and crisp.

* You can freeze them after step #4. When you want to serve

them, put them into the preheated oven without defrosting.

Add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the regular baking time.

** You can also bake them then freeze them. To serve, reheat in oven for 15 minutes. These are ok in a pinch.

***DIP:

Combine plain yogurt with enough curry paste to taste. (about 1 tbsp)

OR

If you're rushed for time, use ready-made chunky salsa.

The recipe makes 36 cigars, for most people, but never for me!

**** I usually make 2 recipes at the same time - one with beef and one with LAMB. The lamb version also works great spread over flatbread before baking in the oven. To this version, I increase the cumin by 1/2 tsp, and add chopped fresh mint into the mixture after it's cooled, along with the egg and honey. After baking, the flatbread is cut into small pieces for serving as appetizer or pizza-like pieces as a main.

Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Appetizer

( RG2156 )