I stopped at the Kyma booth during Taste of Atlanta last year and I can't stop thinking about the phyllo pastries Pano served. The crunchy phyllo. The savory filling. Delicious. I would like to try my hand at using phyllo dough. Would it be possible they would share their recipe with us fledgling bakers? Thanks very much. — Beverly Molander, Atlanta
Chef Pano Karatassos is no stranger to working with phyllo. His Spinach and Feta Phyllo Pies with their addition of crab to the filling are an inspired take on traditional spanakopita. It's a special version he produced last year just for Taste of Atlanta. You'll find his traditional version in his cookbook, "Modern Greek Cooking" ($37.50, Rizzoli International Publications).
“There isn’t a single family gathering where my mother doesn’t make at least one or two pie-crust versions of spanakopita, and they’re always the first appetizers to go. In Greece, my grandmother Stella prepares a recipe using a rough puff pastry dough that she calls fila (with an “a”). I use store-bought no. 10 phyllo, aka country phyllo, and make two-bite triangles.”
Buford Highway Farmers Market carries phyllo in several thicknesses. If you can only find the thin variety available in most grocery stores, double it when working with this recipe. Preserved lemons are also available at the Buford Highway Farmers Market or try your hand at making your own. They’re a simple “pickle” made of lemons preserved in salt.
Taste of Atlanta comes back to Historic Fourth Ward Park this year Oct. 18-20. Karatassos won't be there this year but you'll find more than 100 chefs and restaurants represented. Find tickets at tasteofatlanta.com/.
3085 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta. 404-262-0702. buckheadrestaurants.com/restaurant/kyma/
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of restaurant in the subject line.
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