Words of Praise for Filo--’The Most Versatile Pastry One Can Buy’ : Paper-Thin Dough Has International Application

Filo, fillo, phyllo. No matter how you spell it, filo (pronounced FEE-low) is fun.

Ignore the recipe books that caution inexperienced cooks to steer clear of these packaged, tissue-thin sheets of dough. Forget the intimidating knot in your stomach that you get every time you read the lengthy directions about properly storing, peeling, stacking and folding these flaky pastry leaves.

The truth of the matter is that working with filo is relatively easy--and a wonderful way to show off the bounty of the land. It offers chefs a unique way to bring different textures to the table and, what’s more, is certain to elicit a chorus of compliments from impressed guests--even for the simplest of fare.

“Filo is like an elegant woman,” says Janice Mary Martin, who teaches the art of filo cooking at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Md. “It is elegant when it is underdressed in simple, rustic casseroles and wonderful when overdressed” in more formal presentations.

The paper-thin sheets can be easily folded over, rolled or twisted together to form delectable hors d’oeuvres. Or they can be used to create hearty main-course dishes, dressing up old family casseroles by serving as crusts. Its light texture also affords an alternative way to present the freshest of vegetables or fruit.

Use in ‘Any Kind of Cuisine’

“Filo is the most versatile pastry one can buy,” says Linda Farrell, a caterer and cooking teacher. “You can use it for any kind of cuisine,” adds Farrell, who uses filo at least once a week. One of her favorite creations: escargot and butter wrapped in filo pouches.

Before San Francisco chef Marti Sousanis worked with filo, “all I ever heard was that it was intimidating to work with. But it just isn’t,” says Sousanis, who has written “The Art of Filo Cookbook” (Addison-Wesley-Aris Books, 1983: $10.95), a detailed guidebook for both the beginner and advanced filo student. “It’s just like playing with clay. You can make of it what you will. Once you start playing with it, you will see how easy it is to work with, and you’ll create your own fancy shapes,” Sousanis adds.

“You can substitute (filo) for the outer wrapping of any stuffed dish from around the world--Chinese won ton skins and egg rolls, Mexican tortillas, Indonesian and Philippine lumpia, Russian piroshki, Argentine empanadas, French crepes, Japanese gyoza --the list is endless,” says Sousanis.

Filo also can be substituted for pie crusts, used for blintzes, wrapped around fish for paupiettes and even placed loosely around a souffle to enhance its already elegant appearance. Aware of this versatility, many trendy restaurants now are using filo in nontraditional dishes.

Making filo even more attractive is its low cost--about $2.50 a pound, enough to make at least three strudels or 60 appetizers.

A Healthful Treat

Many of the fillings can be made far ahead and wrapped in filo, to be refrigerated for a day or frozen for several weeks until baking time.

And in spite of the melted butter that’s called for in filo recipes to provide moisture and taste, filo dishes are healthful. Brushing the individual sheets of a strudel, for example, uses relatively little butter, especially when you consider the amount of butter that’s called for in other pastry desserts. Additionally, if you are making a savory filo dish, olive oil can be substituted--although it will impart a different flavor.

The precise origins of filo dough are unclear. Some credit the Greeks, saying it was first mentioned as a bread and walnut sweet in Homer’s “Odyssey,” written around 800 BC. In fact, the word filo is derived from the Greek word for leaf.

Yet in spite of its etymological derivation, still others credit the Turks with inventing filo about 1,000 years ago, noting that at that time the Turks ate a thin, unleavened bread, fried on a simple iron sheet, called yufka. According to Sousanis’ book, “the Turks served yufkas folded or piled up in stacks with butter or other fillings between the layers.”

Yet there are other chefs who say that filo actually originated in China and worked its way west.

A Tedious Process

Wherever it came from, it has through the centuries been made by hand--a tedious, daylong process in which the dough is stretched by hand to a paper-thin thickness.

“My mother used to do it by scratch, but, oh my goodness, I wouldn’t today,” says Eva Poulos of Potomac, Md. “You have to lay all these layers of thin dough on clean sheets all over the house and let them dry,” recalls Poulos.

Poulos and other filo aficionados now buy machine-made filo--a product that has become increasingly easy to find thanks to its growing popularity. Most major supermarket chains carry commercially made filo in their frozen-food sections.

But over and over again, filo experts advise cooks--especially beginners--to buy filo at Middle Eastern and Mediterranean specialty-food stores. This filo is refrigerated, not frozen.

“At most major supermarkets, the filo’s been damaged because it’s been around a little bit,” says Martin. The edges tend to stick together and are hard to pull apart. “Filo at an ethnic store is less likely to be bruised.”

However, if frozen filo is the only kind available, cooks should check the package carefully in the store before buying. If it turns out, when the package is opened, that the edges of the sheets are all stuck together, then the edges can be cut off to make it easier to peel off the sheets one by one.

If frozen filo is the only option, it is recommended that the package be allowed to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. “Never go from the freezer to room temperature, because moisture develops and the dough sticks together,” says Judy Harris, an Alexandria, Va., cooking teacher. If well wrapped, filo will keep in the refrigerator for at least three months.

Different Opinions

Whether previously frozen or fresh, filo should be removed from the refrigerator about an hour before using, according to most cooks. But some, such as Poulos, thinks filo gets crumbly if left at room temperature, so she uses it directly from the refrigerator.

When working with filo, get all the fillings ready before opening the package of filo sheets. The fillings should not have too much liquid, because that would make the phyllo too soggy. Nor should they be piping hot; room temperature is perfect.

Next to buying fresh filo, chefs stress that the most important thing to do is to keep the filo sheets you are not immediately working on well covered. “The enemy of filo is air,” says Martin. “Air dries out the filo and makes it brittle and almost impossible to use.”

Martin keeps her filo wrapped between four dish towels. The bottom and the top towels are damp. The filo rests between the second and third towels, which are dry. Wet towels directly next to the filo make the dough soggy, sticky and difficult to use.

But other cooks have different methods. Harris, for instance, puts plastic wrap on top of the filo and weights that down with a damp towel. Cooking teacher and former caterer Marcia Fox uses wax paper above and below the filo with a damp cloth on the very top while Poulos uses only dry paper towels on top.

When buttering the filo sheets, work quickly. “You do not have to be a perfectionist and get butter on every spot,” says Fox. “In fact, if you do, it will be drenched in butter.” A 1 1/2-inch or 2-inch pastry brush--or even a fine nylon paint brush such as Poulos uses--is recommended.

If the filo tears in the process of layering or buttering, it is easy to patch. Gently place the torn pieces back together, butter, and then cover with one or two more sheets of filo, buttering those as well.

Folding the filo is easy--once you’ve decided the shapes you want. There are an endless variety, from triangles to snake-like spirals to short egg rolls and then more fanciful butterflies and wreaths. If making a number of different filo hors d’oeuvres for a party, make a different shape for each filling.

Store in the Fridge

After the filo is stuffed, most pastries can be stored in the refrigerator a day or two before baking. Or they can be frozen. Place the pastries on a baking sheet in a single layer, cover well and freeze. Once they are frozen, the pastries can be moved to a freezer container in which they can be stacked, with wax paper between layers.

When baking frozen filo pastries, do not defrost them first or they will become soggy. Simply cook the frozen pastries five minutes longer than the recipe calls for.

However, if deep-frying filo pastries, Martin recommends thawing them first for an hour on a cloth-lined tray to absorb excess moisture.