Cheese-fille Phyllo Triangles (Tiropetes)

  

Cheese-filled Phyllo Triangles (Tiropites)   Bake: 20-30 minutes Prep: 45 minutes Makes: about 40-50 pieces Athens® brand of thin phyllo, 9 by 14-inches (size 4) is used in this recipe. In a one-pound box, two 9 by 14-inch rolls of phyllo are included. Use one roll and freeze the other in the original packaging. For a zingier taste, add two cups of grated mizithra to the feta mixture. Check out the URL for phyllo wrapping techniques. 1/2 pound phyllo 2 cups Greek feta, crumbled 3 eggs 1/2 pound butter, melted   Bring one roll phyllo to room temperature in original wrap. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add feta and mix well. Remove phyllo from wax paper Place stack of phyllo on a cutting board and cut lengthwise into 4 equal strips. Cover phyllo with wax paper or damp towel until ready to use to keep from drying out. Lightly butter one strip; place a second strip on top of first strip and lightly butter, too. Place a heaping teaspoonful of cheese mixture at one end of the strip. Fold one corner over filling to make a triangle and continue folding as you would a flag. Brush butter under the last fold to seal the triangle and finish by lightly brushing the top of the triangle with butter. Continue until all triangles are made and placed on a large sheet pan covered in parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes at 3500F until golden brown

Phyllo Tips

1. Bring phyllo to room temperature, by placing the frozen phyllo in the refrigerator overnight. The next day it out for 1-2 hours to bring it to room temperature. Otherwise, it may brittle and gummy. And do not microwave it!!! 
2. Once phyllo is room temperature, remove the it from wax paper. 
3. Place a damp towel or wax paper on top of phyllo to keep from drying out or work fast. Phyllo is very forgiving; if it breaks, add some butter and keep folding.
4. When preparing the phyllo strips, cut lengthwise in half (you can use a knife or cooking scissors) and then again lengthwise in half, making 4 equal parts. 
5. When making a triangle fold one corner over the filling, making a triangle and continue folding as you would a flag, first up and then to the side until the entire strip becomes a spinach-filled phyllo triangle.

Brushing Tips

1. Suggest using a soft-bristled pastry brush, than a silicone brush, when brushing melted butter on phyllo.
2. It is not recommended to wash the soft-bristled brush in the dishwasher. Run some hot water over the brush, put soap on top of the brush and rinse it thoroughly for a few minutes. 
3. I label my soft-bristled brush  that I use for buttering phyllo so as not to use it with, for example, a chicken marinade. I don't want to pick up other flavors such as oregano if the brush should not be thoroughly cleaned. 

Freezing Tips

1. Lay unbaked triangles separately out a pan, cover the pan with saran wrap and foil and then freeze them for an hour. 
2.  If don't have enough room in the freezer, you can remove them from the pan once they are frozen after an hour and place them in a zip lock storage bag.   When removed from freezer cook, lightly spray with water and cook immediately for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

1) Old Spaghetti Factory brand Mizithra (75%) combined with Romano (25%) and eggs 

https://www.osf.com/

2) Feta combined with parmesan plus eggs

Tiropita may, also, be combined with other cheeses such as ricotta.  My Mom combined feta with cottage cheese. All the cheeses I recently tried including feta with Mizithra and the Old Spaghetti brand Mizithra plus Romano have been very good. Only the Parmesan makes for a drier tiropita. Using only feta to make tiropita is excellent, as long as you don't forget to add eggs.

As recommended by  on their website, pre-cut the entire stack of phyllo all the way through with a sharp knife, food scissors or even a pizza cutter. Cover remaining phyllo completely with a damp towel to prevent phyllo from drying out as you work. Cut one piece of phyllo length-wise into 4 strips; lightly butter the initial strip; put another strip of phyllo over it before adding filling to fold.

This is a pictograph of cutting and folding the tiropita into a flag as was pictured in the 1991 cookbook version.

Suggest reading more about phyllo at  

    https://athensfoods.com/products/phyllo-dough-sheets/

My local grocery store carries the Athens brand which is perfect for making tirpota with the following size information:

• Approximately 2 rolls of 36 – 9” x 14” Phyllo Sheets
• A 1 pound package will have 2 rolls in a wax paper. Use one roll and put the other back in the freezer for this recipe
• Other brands may have only 1 roll of a pound of phyllo
• Width is size 4 which is a tissue-thin layer of phyllo

Rolling the tiropita like a flag.  I learned that as I gained more experience, the tiropita rolled into a tighter triangle lookw nicer to be served as an appetizer.