Easy Phyllo Tarts - Sweet or Savory

I have been watching those lovely puff pastry freeform tarts all over social media and knew I wanted to try them for myself. They were filled with everything imaginable, both sweet and savory.

When I came home from the grocery store I realized I had purchased phyllo (or Filo) pastry instead of puff pastry, but not to be dissuaded I decided to forge ahead to make the tarts with phyllo pastry and they were fabulous!  (It's is not uncommon for me to purchase the wrong thing.  In fact it's kind of a joke between Tim & I ;-)

I wanted to test both a sweet and savory version. My sweet version used in season freestone Georgia peaches with a hint of coconut sugar and fresh thyme. There are also a few walnuts for some additional crunch because someone in our house ate all but about a tablespoon of the walnuts (who leaves a tablespoon of walnuts in the pantry?). The golden and crispy pastry with that sweet bite of peach was a totally blissful bite. I was super excited that this turned out so well so I then tested a savory version.

PHYLLO ARE PAPER THIN SHEETS OF PASTRY DOUGH. IF YOU'VE EVER HAD BAKLAVA, YOU'VE HAD PHYLLO.

I thought perhaps mushrooms would be ideal for this and I was right. The mushrooms paired perfectly with verdant rosemary and tangy goat cheese in the buttery,  flaky pastry.  It could not have been more perfect.
We were having a small neighborhood party that evening, so decided to take my pastry test to the party and they were a hit.

READY FOR THEIR PASTRY TOPPERS

I am so glad I decided to press on using phyllo for these pastries.  They are so incredibly crisp and both the sweet and savory versions are uniquely appealing. They're a gorgeous mouthful and the flaky pastry leaves it's evidence by way of a crumb trail on your shirt if you're not careful. 

READY FOR THE OVEN

Don't be intimidated. These are so easy and quite forgiving. Watch the YouTube tutorial if you're in doubt about how easy these actually are. From start to finish this took me about 30 minutes and then I was enjoying the result of my efforts.

You can imagine that just about anything could be substituted here. Get creative. Apples instead of peaches? What about a version with some cheeses and pepperoni for a pseudo pizza phyllo tart. The possibilities are endless!

OUT OF THE OVEN & READY FOR THEIR BIG FLIP & REVEAL

HOW GORGEOUS ARE THESE?

Easy Phyllo Tarts (Sweet or Savory)

Makes 12 Tarts

Equipment Needed:
2 baking sheets - or bake in 2 batches
Parchment paper  for easy removal
Pastry brush


1/2 package frozen Phyllo Pastry (thawed overnight in fridge-I use Athens brand)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted (I melt mine with short intervals in the microwave)


For Savory Mushroom Version
24 baby portobello or cremini mushrooms, de-stemmed and sliced
6 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons chopped fresh Rosemary
4 ounces goat cheese. (plain or flavored, like garlic & herb)
1 teaspoon course sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper




For Sweet Peach Version 
6 freestone peaches, deputed & cut into thin slices
12 tablespoonscoconut sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
12 fresh thyme sprigs
​1/2 teaspoon course sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (optional-sounds odd, but adds a unique touch that is delicious_


Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place parchment paper down on baking sheets.

Imagine your parchment is separated into 6 segments. You'll build your creation with 6 pastries per sheet.

Open up one roll of the phyllo pastry (the packages typically come with 2 rolls per package)
Working quickly as phyllo tends to dry out, cut the stack of phyllo in half widthwise, then cut each half into 6 equal sections.  Cover with a slightly damp clean tea towel until you're ready to use.


On the parchment lined baking sheets, drizzle the honey or sprinkle coconut sugar evenly between each of the 12 areas (6 per baking sheet).  Add herbs of choice on top of the honey or sugar.


Arrange mushroom or peach slices in a fan like pattern for prettiest presentation over the herbs.
Place goat cheese for the mushroom version and walnuts for the peach version over that.
Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper (which actually works quite well on the peaches too)


Cover with 2 to 4 sheets of the phyllo squares (don't stress over getting this exactly even as it will be amazing regardless.


Brush each square/rectangle using half of the melted butter.


Place remaining squares phyllo sheets over the freshly buttered sheets then brush with remaining butter.


Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden.  Invert to serve.  These are best the same day as they tend to lose some crispness the following day.