Everything you could ever want to transpire across your taste buds: creamy lemon ricotta whip, topped with a citrus lemon-orange confit, kalamata olives, and fresh thyme (both sweet and savory), and then baked inside a miniature phyllo dough pastry cup – the perfect bite!
Buttery, crunchy, creamy, sweet, tart, and savory – these bites are all in one!
What is confit?
It’s a traditional French cooking method, and originally referred to anything preserved by slowly cooking it in any liquid; fruits, for example, would be confited in sugar syrup. Nowadays, however, it tends to refer to food that’s been slow-cooked in fat and not necessarily aged or stored.
Most foods can be improved with a little bit of oil, but confiting takes things a step further. By gently poaching fish, meat or vegetables in oil (or animal fat) slowly over a low heat they become rich, meltingly tender and (as you can probably guess) incredibly tasty.
–Great British Chefs
Citrus Olive Thyme Confit Phyllo Bites
Citrus Olive Thyme Confit Phyllo Bites
10 (1 pkg.) frozen phyllo cups
1/2 cup ricotta cheese, room temperature
1 pinch fresh lemon juice
Citrus Confit:
1 whole lemon, chopped
1 whole seedless orange (navel), chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. all purpose flour
sea salt and pepper
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
2 tsp. fresh thyme
freshly grated pepper
In a small pot, combine the lemon, orange, olive oil, sugar, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer.
Cover and cook for 30-60 minutes, until very much reduced.
Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until well combined.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cover the citrus mixture and simmer for 10-12 minutes more, until super thick, stirring constantly.
Meanwhile, whisk together the ricotta and fresh lemon juice.
Fill each pastry cup with just a dab of the lemon ricotta.
Next, top with another dab of the citrus confit.
Top with 1-2 olives.
Bake for 10 minutes, or so, until golden brown and bubbly.
Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with fresh thyme and freshly grated pepper.
Swoon at every bite.
