Taking inspiration from Middle-Eastern pastries, our christmas chicken cigarillos are just the thing to greet any dinner guest in from the cold. Wonderfully flaky with a satisfying crunch, the golden crust of the filo pastry gives way to a gorgeously creamy, chicken inside.
This is really quick and simple fare; delicious make-ahead party food that will leave you with time to spare and your guests wanting more.
Ingredients
2 handfuls of cooked and pulled Properly Free-Range Chicken breasts
1 roll of pre-made filo pastry
4 tablespoons of ricotta
4 tablespoons of cream cheese
1/2 bunch of chopped chives
Handful of chopped figs
Pure Sea Salt and pepper
1 beaten egg
Method
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together well apart from the egg. Put to one side whilst you prepare the pastry.
On a clean and flat worktop, layer 2 sheets of filo pastry on top of each other. On top of the filo pastry, place a sausage sized length of the chicken mixture all along the length of one end of the pastry. Lightly egg wash the rest of pastry. Roll it up so it forms a cigar shaped length. Cut it into around 4 inch cigarillos. Repeat this process until the creamy chicken mixture is used up.
To cook, preheat the oven to 210C. Egg wash the top of the cigarillos and back on a baking tray for around 15 minutes. Serve hot, with lots of dipping sauce.
These cigarillos can be assembled up to 4 hours ahead. Cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bake the cigars just before serving.