This recipe is ever so slightly adapted from Giada de Laurentis. Not because it needed to be adapted. Hers is delicious just like it is. But she uses smoked mozzarella, (which I love), but it doesn't seem to be as widely received as regular mozzarella, so I made that substitution just to give this a little bit broader appeal. Also, she uses tomatoes packed in oil. Again, delicious, but I just don't think the extra oil is necessary, so I used regular sun-dried tomatoes and just reconstituted them in some hot water. Either way, these are delightfully unique and add a touch of elegance and a rich flavor and texture to all kinds of meals.
Ingredients:
6 sheets phyllo dough
4 tablespoons butter, melted
8 oz. mozzarella, sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 oz. sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water, then drained
garlic powder
sea salt
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Keeping phyllo sheets covered with a damp cloth to avoid having them dry out, follow this process one sheet at a time: Lay one sheet out on a flat, dry surface. Brush with melted butter. Fold in half (resulting in a 12x8 sheet) and brush with butter again. Place 2 pieces of cheese on one of the narrow ends, leaving a 1-inch margin at the bottom and on either side. Add a few tomatoes on top of the cheese. Beginning with the cheese/tomato end, roll up the dough, tucking in the sides about halfway through, until you have a "cigar" shape.
3. Place seam side down on foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining 5 phyllo sheets.
4. Brush each cigar again with melted butter.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
6. Immediately upon removing them from the oven, dust with a pinch of garlic powder and sea salt.
So yummy!