Fried cheese cigars for Chanukah

I enjoy the festival of Chanukah, which, for me, is a quiet family holiday. I don’t feel the same stress about cooking or time restraints as I do with most other holidays, so it’s a pleasure to patchke with frying up some special treats.

I embrace the custom of eating fried food and dairy food during Chanukah. I’ve published three different donut recipes and leek edjeh (think leek latkes) in the past few years, but this is the first time I’m sharing my fried cigar recipe. Many people think of cigars as restaurant food. But once you complete this recipe you’ll see it’s not so complicated and perhaps you’ll attempt a meat cigar recipe as well.

These cigars are flaky and light, with a salty feta cheese filling that melts yet stays in place. I love each crunchy bite when eating anything made with phyllo pastry. If you’d rather work with spring roll wrappers, you can buy a package in the freezer section at Murray Avenue Kosher. Believe it or not, these cheese cigars are easier than making homemade donuts and everyone loves them.

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Ingredients:
2 cups crumbled feta cheese, about a half-pound
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
A dash of black pepper or Aleppo pepper, if desired
½ pound (about ½ a box) of phyllo pastry sheets
OR spring roll wrappers

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour mixed with
1 tablespoon water, to make a sealing paste for the pastry

Neutral oil for frying

Bring the frozen pastry to room temperature by placing the phyllo or the spring roll dough on your countertop for a few hours.

Crumble a half-pound of feta using the back of a fork, which will yield about 2 cups.

Mix in the mozzarella cheese, 1 beaten egg and the finely chopped parsley. You can add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped dill or spring onion if you’d like, but I usually make these as is. The feta cheese is very salty so you won’t need to add any salt, but you can add a dash of pepper if you like.

In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour to form a paste, which you will use to seal the pastries.

If using phyllo, unwrap the pastry and roll it onto a cutting board or clean countertop. Use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to cut the rectangle in half horizontally.

Quickly roll up half the pastry, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it back into the freezer for later use.
Cover the remaining half of the pastry with a clean tea towel.

If using spring roll wrappers, remove the sealed cover from the package, but leave the pastry in the package and cover with a towel.

Keep both pastries covered between rolling each cigar. The phyllo pastry will be in a rectangular shape and the spring roll wrapper is a perfect square. The spring roll pastry is a bit larger and you can use a rounded tablespoon of filling, while the phyllo works better with 2-3 teaspoons of filling per piece. For the spring rolls, use one sheet of pastry (you can freeze any left over for another recipe); for the phyllo dough use two pieces stacked together.

Work on a clean board or countertop, taking only the amount of pastry needed for each roll.

You’re going to roll on the diagonal, so place the correct amount of filling at the corner nearest to you, and press it into a 2- or 3-inch log of cheese.

Roll the corner up over the filling one full turn, then carefully tuck in the sides of the pastry to meet in the center.

Once secure, roll up the entire piece as tightly as possible, tucking in any loose pieces as you roll.

When you get to the end, dip your finger into the bowl of flour paste and place a dab on the corner near the top before sealing. You won’t see the flour and this is a great trick to remember when making other things.
Place the roll seam down on a plate.

Roll up the rest of the cigars and cover with a towel until the oil is ready for frying.

You will get about 24 pieces if you use phyllo and about 18 if you use spring roll wrappers. If you wish to freeze any or make a double batch, place them on a baking sheet seam down and freeze for 1 hour before transferring to a container, using wax paper between each layer. You can fry them frozen in about 5 minutes — just watch them carefully.

I use a heavy-bottomed stainless saucepan to cook these. It’s not quite a deep fry, but you will most likely need 2 or 3 cups of oil. It’s important that they have some room to float and that the cigar does not sit on the bottom of the pan.

The oil should be around 375 F. Bring it up slowly over medium-low heat, then increase the heat to about medium. If you fry even once a year, I suggest getting an instant read digital thermometer that can read at a high level temperature to check the oil between every batch. I also recommend adding chunks of peeled carrot to the hot oil to attract the dark burned bits and keep the oil cleaner. Add a chunk or two with every batch and remove them before adding fresh pieces.

Reduce the heat back to medium-low before adding the pastry. Add 4 to 6 at a time, depending on the size of your pot.

Fry for 20-30 seconds per side before carefully removing each piece to rest on a paper towel- lined tray. Cool for 5 minutes before serving, but be careful: Fried food can retain heat for longer than expected.

These are best when eaten fresh. You can rewarm them in a 425 F oven for about 8 minutes to freshen before serving.

Discarding cooking oil can be a bit of a mess; you never should put it down your kitchen drain. The best way to discard used cooking oil is to add a few cups of raw, rolled oats to the cool oil. If there is less than 1 cup of oil in the pan,1 cup of oats usually will soak up the grease in about an hour. If there is more oil, it’s best to add a few cups and put a lid on the pot and let it rest overnight. Give it a good stir in the morning and add more oats if needed. Discard into your garbage bin — preferably into a pretty full bag so there is material to soak up the oil.

Take the garbage outside immediately to avoid messy leaks.

Chanukah sameach! Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.