Spinach-Ricotta Phyllo Cups

I love planning menus. It involves pure possibility—and none of the worry, sharp knives, and faulty oven mits that cooking so often includes. I spent one summer planning and serving themed dinners for my family. But the lists, charts, and diagrams I devised to create these menus far surpassed the number of meals that I actually produced. Such was the case for a recent an end-of-the-summer party, where I was granted the task of planning and making a spread of finger foods. I went quite overboard with ideas, and the first round of menu planning produced a dozen or so two-bite dishes—considerably more than I could logically execute. So after some meditating, I took a cleaver to the list to identify the crowd-pleasers. These simple ricotta-spinach cups survived the edit.

I don't much like to work with phyllo, but it's awfully tasty. And if you're not stingy with the butter, the process isn't really that laborious. The key is to work steadily through the seemingly endless pile of whisper-thin sheets and get them slathered with butter and into the muffin tins before they have a chance to dry out. This recipe is forgiving in that you can essentially crinkle the phyllo into the cups without too much attention to the shape. As long as there's a well for the filling, and the edges don't don't reach too far outside the cup, they'll bake up crisp and buttery. The variety of corners and edges gives an inviting, rustic look to the plateful of cups.

The filling is similar to the sort I would make for calzone. But I made a few modifications. I cooked up the spinach in garlic-spiked oil for another dimension of flavor; and the garlic really sings in each bite. Mincing the spinach ensured that the ricotta maintained its creaminess, for a satisfyingly smooth contrast to the crisp shells. A little parmesan added a salty kick. 

Spinach-Ricotta Phyllo Cups
Ingredients:
1 TBSP olive oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
16-oz frozen spinach, thawed, or 1 bunch fresh, stems removed
1 medium tub ricotta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 package phyllo dough (one roll: remove from freezer at least two hours before making)
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:
--In a medium saucepan, heat oil on medium heat. Add garlic and stir until garlic is lightly browned. Toss in spinach and cook until the leaves are fully wilted or, if using frozen spinach, are heated through. Remove from heat. When cool enough to handle, mince the spinach. Mix in ricotta, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
--Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set out two 12-cup muffin tins on a counter. Cover a flat surface with parchment (this is a space for buttering the phyllo). Unroll the package of phyllo.
--Peel one layer of phyllo from the stack and place on parchment. Fold 1/3 of the phyllo over itself to make a rectangle 2/3 of the sheet's original size. Brush the entire rectangle with the melted butter. Fold the sheet in half and brush again with butter. Lift the sheet off of the parchment and place it in a muffin cup, buttered side down. Fold and crease the dough as necessary to fit. Brush with butter. Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets (there should be 16 or so).
--Fill each cup to the top with ricotta mixture (about 1/2 cup in each). Bake for 20 minutes, or until the phyllo edges are light brown and the filling is hot. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.