Escargots With Feta in Phyllo Pastry

Ingredients

• 7 ounces canned escargot (200 g tin, containing not less than 30 snails, but can size is approximate)
• 4 sheets phyllo pastry
• olive oil
• 6 ounces feta cheese (pat dry if in brine)
• 6 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped (use strong garlic)
• 3 teaspoons black pepper, coarse
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup finely chopped parsley (200 ml)

Directions

1. 1

   Set oven at 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius.

2. 2

   Grease (your choice) 6 holes of a muffin tin, or make smaller starters by using a patty pan tin.

3. 3

   Open and drain the the escargots. Open the phyllo pastry, and cover with a well-wrung-out clean, damp kitchen cloth to prevent it drying out.

4. 4

   If your olive oil has a stopper which makes it come out in a thin stream, just drizzle across the top phyllo sheet, then brush that evenly all over with a pastry brush. (Or put olive oil in a bowl and brush over).

5. 5

   Put the phyllo sheet on a wooden board or on your clean counter. Brush 3 more phyllo sheets with olive oil, and put them, one after the other, carefully on top of each other.

6. 6

   The phyllo I used could then easily be divided into 6 parts and carefully cut through. Put the 4-layer phyllo pastry rectangles in 6 muffin holes, patting them in with your fingers. If using patty tins, you'll be able to make a number more -- but here I'm giving instructions for muffin holes.

7. 7

   Feta, where I am, usually comes in 2-ounce rounds in brine. Pat them dry with kitchen paper, and break up the feta in large bits. Put 1 ounce in each "nest" of phyllo.

8. 8

   Put 5 escargots on top of the feta chunks.

9. 9

   Add 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic to each pastry.

10. 10

    Add 1/2 teaspoon pepper to each, then add about 1/2 teaspoon butter to each, and finish off by dividing the parsley between your lined muffin or patty pan holes.

11. 11

    Carefully fold the phyllo pastry over the filling. The easiest way is to tuck in the short bits first, then fold the longest bit over the rest, and fasten with a toothpick.

12. 12

    Brush every little bundle with more olive oil, or melted butter.

13. 13

    Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the pastry is golden.

14. 14

    They should come out easily, but be careful because the phyllo is brittle when baked. Garnish to your taste.