Equipment
Ingredients
Filling
- 200 g fresh cooking chorizo, casings removed, finely crumbled
- 300 g butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 5mm dice
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- 2 garlic, minced
- 80 g manchego cheese, finely grated
- 2 g fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 2 g smoked paprika
Pastry
- 250 g filo pastry sheets, thawed if frozen
- 100 g unsalted butter, melted
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 121 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 8 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 105 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 3 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Cholesterol
- 9 mg
- Potassium
- 101 mg
- Calcium
- 30 mg
- Iron
- 0.5 mg
- Magnesium
- 7 mg
- Phosphorus
- 22 mg
- Zinc
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 97 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 3 mg
- Vitamin E
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin K
- 1 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.0 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.0 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.07 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.04 mg
- Niacin
- 0.6 mg
- Folate
- 13 mcg
- Water
- 17 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the crumbled chorizo in a large cold frying pan over medium heat. Allow the sausage to slowly render its fat and crisp up, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked chorizo to a mixing bowl, leaving the vibrant red fat in the pan.
Add the diced butternut squash and minced shallot to the chorizo fat remaining in the pan. Sauté over medium heat until the squash is tender and caramelized at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic during the last minute of cooking to avoid burning.
Transfer the squash mixture to the bowl with the chorizo. Add the smoked paprika and thyme, mixing thoroughly. Allow the mixture to cool for at least 15 minutes to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy. Once cooled, fold in the grated manchego cheese.
Unroll the filo pastry and keep it covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel. Place one sheet of filo on a clean cutting board and brush lightly with melted butter. Place a second sheet directly on top and brush with butter again. Cut the layered pastry vertically into four equal strips.
Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling at the bottom corner of one pastry strip. Fold the corner diagonally over the filling to meet the opposite edge, forming a triangle. Continue folding the triangle over itself, maintaining the shape, until you reach the top of the strip. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Brush the tops of the folded triangles with a final layer of melted butter. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the pastry is deeply golden and crisp.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm.
Chef's Notes
- Dicing the squash uniformly to 5mm is critical. Large chunks will not fit neatly inside the geometric folds of the filo and risk puncturing the delicate pastry walls.
- Using raw cooking chorizo is essential for this recipe, as the fat rendered during the initial sauté provides the primary cooking medium and flavor base for the squash.
- Clarifying your butter before brushing the pastry prevents the milk solids from spotting or burning on the exterior during the high-temperature bake.
- For the cleanest folds, do not overfill the triangles. A level tablespoon is visually deceptive but perfectly portioned for a standard filo strip.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container lined with paper towels to absorb moisture.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze unbaked triangles in a single layer before transferring to a sealed bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 5 minutes to the cooking time.
Reheating: Reheat baked triangles in a 180C/350F oven for 5 to 7 minutes to restore crispness. Do not microwave.
Troubleshooting
Filo pastry shatters or tears during folding
Cause: The pastry dried out from exposure to ambient air
Fix: Patch small tears with an extra scrap of buttered filo; extensive shattering cannot be fixed
Prevention: Always keep unworked filo sheets completely covered with a barely damp kitchen towel
Soggy pastry bottom
Cause: Filling was too wet, or warm filling created steam inside the pastry
Fix: Return to the oven directly on the lower oven rack for 3 to 4 minutes
Prevention: Ensure the filling is completely cool before assembling, and drain any excessive rendered fat before folding
Squash is undercooked inside the finished triangles
Cause: Squash pieces were diced too large to cook thoroughly during the pan stage
Fix: Cannot be fixed once baked without burning the delicate pastry shell
Prevention: Ensure squash is diced no larger than 5mm so it becomes fully tender before assembly
Cultural Context
While filo pastry has deep roots in Middle Eastern and Balkan culinary traditions, this appetizer heavily leans into Spanish flavor profiles. By swapping traditional spinach and feta for smoky pimenton, cured pork, and aged sheep cheese, the dish bridges the shatteringly thin textures of Mediterranean baking with the robust, hearty tapas tradition of the Iberian peninsula.
