Katmer: Turkish Filo, Mascarpone and Pistachio Parcels

, from Issue #84. May, 2019
Photography by Josh Griggs.
Katmer: Turkish Filo, Mascarpone and Pistachio Parcels

These crisp and golden pastry parcels hail from Gaziantep and I like friends to just pick one up, fold it over and eat with their fingers.

Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

12 sheets filo pastry
½ cup melted butter
250 grams mascarpone
2 tablespoons sugar
⅓ cup finely chopped pistachios
icing sugar for dusting

METHOD

Set a large cooling rack over a flat baking sheet and place in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 100°C.

Work with one sheet of filo at a time, keeping the remaining sheets covered with a tea towel.

Take one filo sheet and, with the short end of the filo towards you, brush half the sheet with butter then fold over to make a smaller rectangle approximately 15cm x 20cm. Brush a 2cm border with butter. Take a tablespoon of mascarpone and, using the back of a teaspoon, make 9 dabs of mascarpone inside the border. Sprinkle over ½ teaspoon of sugar then 1 teaspoon chopped pistachios. Fold over a third of the pastry then fold over again to give you a rectangle. Brush both sides with butter.

Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the parcel for about 40 seconds each side, or until golden and crisp. Place on the rack in the oven and repeat until all the parcels are made and cooked.

Cut each one in half and dust with icing sugar and the remaining pistachios.