Shrimp and Gruyere Phyllo Purses with Tomato Basil Salsa

By commercecook

This recipe was originally for an appetizer or first course. I used it for an entree.

Ingredients

• Filling:
• 4 ounces of butter
• 1/2 package phyllo dough, thawed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 8 ounces grated Gruyere cheese
• 2 ounces scallions, very thinly sliced
• pepper to taste
• Tomato-basil salsa
• 3 pounds very ripe tomatoes, seeded, finely diced
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 4 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
• Salt to taste

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Filling: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until it reaches the smoking point. Add the minced garlic, stirring frequently until it becomes golden. (Do not allow garlic to blacken or it will be bitter) Quickly add the raw shrimp, stir, turning shrimp over until they become pink. Remove, transfer to a bowl and chill. When shrimp have cooled down, cut in half.

Tomato-basil salsa: In a bowl, combine all the ingredients just before serving. If done in advance, put through a strainer before serving to eliminate all the excess water. Also, do not add the basil until you're ready to serve.

Assembly, Melt butter in a bowl. Unroll phyllo dough. Be sure to cover the dough while working on one sheet at a time. Lay a sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Do this two more times. Then, in the middle of the rectangle, put in one quarter each of the shrimp, cheese and onions. Fold like a package and brush with butter. The original recipe sald to combine the 3 ingredients, but I found it too hard to divide equally.

At this point, the bundles can be covered with saran wrap and kept in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, put in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.
To serve, put down a quarter of the salsa, being careful to drain so there is no excess water and top with a shrimp bundle.