Recipe–Phyllo Tourtiere Rolls

If you are getting ready to host a New Year's Eve party, you may want to add these delightful Tourtiere Rolls to your hors d'ouvres menu.  They have quite a few ingredients, but are easy to make.  If you want to do vegan, mash up mushrooms or black beans as a substitute for the meat.

Enjoy.

Phyllo Tourtiere Rolls

Ingredients

1/2 284-mL can water chestnuts, drained

2 tsp butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

500 g ground chicken, turkey or pork

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp dried sage leaves

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 green onions

2 celery stalk

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream, preferably not light

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

6 sheets phyllo pastry

1/3 cup butter, melted

fresh thyme leaves, or finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions

• Rinse water chestnuts. Drain well. Chop into 1/4-inch (0.5-cm) pieces, then set aside. (Store remaining chestnuts in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will keep well at least 5 days.) Melt butter in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add onion, chicken, salt, thyme, cloves, cinnamon, sage and pepper. Stir often with a fork to keep chicken separated until it loses its pink colour, from 6 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, finely slice green onions and finely chop celery, if using, into 1/4-inch (0.5-cm) pieces. In a medium-size bowl, whisk egg with sour cream. Set aside. Stir water chestnuts, green onions and celery, if using, into frying pan with chicken. Cook just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and discard any excess liquid in pan. Stir sour cream mixture and 1/4 cup (50 mL) parsley into chicken. Cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board. Lightly brush with butter, then cover with another phyllo sheet. Line up all edges. Repeat brushing and layering with 1 more phyllo sheet. Cover remaining phyllo with a damp tea towel. Cut phyllo stack into 12 squares, each about 4×4 inches (10×10 cm). Work with 6 squares at a time. Spoon 1 tablespoon (15 mL) cooled filling onto bottom right corner of each square. Tightly roll corner toward centre to partially enclose filling. Once you reach centre, fold in sides to cover filling. Continue tightly rolling up pastry to form a small log. To seal, lightly brush seam with a little melted butter. Then place seam-side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining squares, spacing them about 1/2 inch (1 cm) apart. Once 12 rolls have been made, repeat entire process with remaining phyllo, butter and filling.
• Brush tops of rolls with remaining butter, then sprinkle with fresh thyme or parsley, if using. Bake in centre of 400F (200C) oven until golden, about 12 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with mango chutney or your favourite fruit chutney as a dipping sauce.

Keep some appetizers in the freezer and ready to cook for last-minute guests. We’ve paired savoury Canadian tourtière filling with Mediterranean pastry for a crunchy bite in these hors d’oeuvres.

Make ahead

Prepare rolls up to point of baking. Freeze rolls on baking sheet until firm, then store, layered, in an airtight container or freezer bag. To bake, do not thaw. Spread out frozen rolls on a baking sheet. Bake according to recipe, but frozen rolls will take a few minutes longer.

Many blessings.