Sweet Corn and Cheese Pasties

I decided to make these mini cheese explosions as my gift to the coworker who invited us to her Astoria, Queens apartment for a holiday party. Don’t get intimated by the “one to many” steps. They’re not complicated. Even if the pastry has a few tears in it, it only adds to the drama of the final piece. It took 15 to 20 minutes to make the filling. An hour to fill, fold and twist all the cheesy treats. It’s a quick, impressive gift for a hostess greeting you a Merry Christmas.

Sweet Corn and Cheese Pasties

Recipe adapted from The Vegetable Encyclopedia and Cookbook by Christine Ingram.

Ingredients

  • 9 oz. sweet corn
  • 4 oz. feta cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tbsp. whipping cream
  • ½ oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 3 spring onions, chopped
  • 8 to 10 small sheets of defrosted filo pastry
  • 4 to 8 oz. butter, melted
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tbsp. of Italian parsley

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°f and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. If using fresh corn, strip corn from the kernel and boil in salted water for 3 to 5 minutes. If using frozen corn (recommend Trader Joe’s frozen corn), steam or boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the corn and run cold water to stop it from cooking.
  3. In another bowl, crumble feta cheese into a bowl. Stir in egg, cream, parmesan, spring onions, salt and pepper. When the corn is completely cooled, stir into the cheese mixture.
  4. Take one sheet of pastry and cut in half to make a square (It doesn’t have to be a perfect square). Keep the remaining pastry covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush the square sheet with the melted butter. Fold the square into four, to make a smaller square.
  5. Place a rounded teaspoon of the corn mixture in the center of each pastry square. Squeeze the pastry around the filling to make a “gift bag”. Place on a cookie sheet.
  6. Continue making pasties until all the corn mixture is used up. Brush the outside of each “bag” with remaining butter. Place cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 15 minutes until golden. Serve room temperature or hot.
Sweet Corn and Cheese Pasties: The Steps
Sweet Corn and Cheese Pasties: The Steps