Little Asian Treasures....

These fantastic, guilt-free, savoury treats came about on accident. I was staying with a friend of mine in Toronto, and she had this 'moms in the area' meet n greet type event one Friday night. It was an appetizer potluck, so she wanted a suggestion for something simple and tasty. I recommended making bite sized tofu 'quiche'.

One of the ingredients to make the crust part is wonton wrappers, which the grocery store conveniently ran out of that day. So I bought phyllo pastry instead.

Okay, long story short, I was concerned with using phyllo as the crust in the mini muffin tin, in fear that it wouldn't crisp up. So instead I made little pocket type things, brushed with lots of butter. I can't remember why we changed up my standard spinach tofu filling, but we did and it turned out great! Now these are somewhat time intensive, but if you are looking to impress and have the extra time, they are well worth the effort.

Ingredients

Crust
8 sheets of phyllo pastry
melted butter

Filling
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 onion, finely diced
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 bell pepper, finely diced
1 block of firm tofu, crumbled finely with your fingers
1/2 bag of spinach, washed well and finely chopped
3 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp Vietnamese chilli sauce
2 tbsp good quality sesame oil

Directions:

1. Start the filling first. In a large pan or wok, heat the oil on high heat.
2. Add ginger and onion and reduce to medium heat.
3. When onions soften (about 3 minutes), add carrot and put on medium low heat covered for 5 minutes.
4. Uncover and add bell pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
5. Increase heat to medium high and add tofu and spinach. Mix this up until the spinach has wilted.
6. Reduce heat to medium low and add all seasonings except sesame oil. Adjust the flavors to your liking.
7. Remove from heat and mix in the sesame oil. Set this mixture aside uncovered to allow the steam to release.
8. Generously brush 4 sheets of phyllo with butter and layer on top of one another. Cut into about 3-4 inch squares.
9. Add a tablespoon of the mixture in the middle of each square.
10. Now for each square, cover the filling by bringing up the corners of the square, and giving it a good solid pinch to create a little 'sack' of yumminess! Keep pinching until it stays. You may rip a few, don't worry - these are for you to enjoy!
11. Continue the filling process until you have created as many appetizers as you would like. Leftover filling can be eaten on its own, and leftover phyllo can be used by making baklava!
12. Bake the little appetizers in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes, until they are crispy and golden. I would try to serve these fresh out of the oven if possible.