Goat Cheese and Chorizo Rolls

We brought this appetizer to some friends' house recently.  It is a phyllo dough roll filled with goat cheese, chorizo and chives with a chimichurri rojo dipping sauce.  I love this appetizer for lots of reasons.  First, these were delicious with very few ingredients.  Second, everything can be prepped in advance and just baked up right before they are served.  Third, yeah, probably the goat cheese did it for me.  

The recipe calls for a dry cured Spanish chorizo.  Something you would find at the deli or by the salami.  I couldn't find it so I just bought fresh Mexican chorizo and cooked it up and chopped it into tiny pieces.  I was careful to drain all the fat and make sure it wasn't too oily.  I thought it tasted great.  

I was kind of rushed when I made these because I had to make them in the morning.  Frozen phyllo dough needs to be defrosted in the fridge for at least 8 hours and then sit out for 2 hours before you can use it.  If you rush it, you will regret it.  It ended up working well for me, but I didn't use enough butter to seal all the rolls so some of them kind of exploded when I baked them.  But they still tasted delicious.  Lastly, the dipping sauce was great (Scot and I agreed that we liked them better with the sauce) but they had plenty of flavor without it too.  

Goat Cheese and Chorizo Rolls

by Food.People.Want

8 ounces fresh goat cheese

1 cup chopped dry chorizo

1 1/2 tablespoons minced chives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Nine 12-by-16-inch sheets of thawed phyllo dough

Melted butter, for brushing

Chimichurri rojo dipping sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 400° and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, chorizo and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lay a sheet of phyllo on a clean, dry work surface and brush it with melted butter. Top with two more sheets, lightly buttering each as you go. Cut the layered phyllo into six long rectangles. Place one tablespoon of the goat cheese filling at the base of each rectangle and roll up the phyllo, folding in the sides as you go. Repeat twice more to make 18 rolls total.

Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheets and brush the rolls with butter; bake for 10 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot with chimichurri rojo for dipping.

(Servings: 18 rolls, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 15 min., Difficulty: Intermediate)

Chimichurri Rojo

1/2 cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons hot paprika

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seeds

1 bay leaf broken in half

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to incorporate.

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foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  8/10

Scot (taste):  8/10

Effort:  3/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5