Cigars with goat cheese and rosemary honey

Cigars with goat cheese and rosemary honey are a delicious and refined appetizer, ideal for an aperitif or as the start of a special dinner. Here is how to prepare them.

Ingredients

• 200 g of soft goat cheese
• 10 sheets of fillo pastry
• Rosemary-flavored honey, as required
• Fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish
• Melted butter, as required
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
2. Spread out the sheets of fillo pastry and cut them in half to obtain rectangles.
3. Brush each rectangle of fillo pastry with a little melted butter.
4. Cut the goat cheese into sticks of your preferred size, but they should be able to be wrapped in the fillo pastry.
5. Place a stick of goat cheese on the shorter part of each rectangle and start to roll gently, folding the sides inward, to obtain the shape of a cigar.
6. Arrange the cigars with goat cheese on a baking tray lined with parchment paper with the seam side down.
7. Brush the surface of the cigars with more melted butter and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until golden and crispy.
8. In the meantime, warm some rosemary honey in a small pot to make it more fluid.
9. Take the cigars out of the oven and transfer them to a serving plate.
10. Drizzle each cigar with a stream of warm rosemary honey and garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs.
11. Serve immediately while they are still hot.

Note:

If you don’t have rosemary honey available, you can make a simple variant by warming some plain honey and adding freshly chopped rosemary, letting it infuse for a few minutes before using it.

These cigars are a perfect example of how simple ingredients can be transformed into a sophisticated dish that is pleasing to both the eye and the palate. Enjoy your meal!