Name: Brown butter corn and cheese filo pies
Ingredients: 100g unsalted butter; 280g fresh corn, taken from 2 cobs (or frozen and defrosted corn kernels); 2 tbsp plain flour; 1 tsp light brown sugar (or caster); 120ml milk; 30g gruyere, grated; 50g hard mozzarella, cut into 1cm cubes; 1 jalapeño chilli, thinly sliced; 3 sheets filo pastry (about 100g); ½ tsp tajin (optional); Fine sea salt

New

Canape / Party food Picnic

Makes 6 pies

Prep 40 min

Cook 45 min

The inspiration here is elotes - Mexican street corn, typically grilled and loaded with cheese, chilli and lime. Those flavours are folded into a creamy, brown butter corn filling and wrapped in filo: gruyère for depth, mozzarella for pull, jalapeño for heat. The tajín is a Mexican chilli-lime seasoning, available in most supermarkets; leave it out if you’re feeding little ones. Good warm, but just as good cooled on a wire rack.

Ingredients

100g	unsalted butter
280g	fresh corn, taken from 2 cobs (or frozen and defrosted corn kernels)
2 tbsp	plain flour
1 tsp	light brown sugar (or caster)
120ml	milk
30g	gruyere, grated
50g	hard mozzarella, cut into 1cm cubes
1	jalapeño chilli, thinly sliced
3	sheets filo pastry (about 100g)
½ tsp	tajin (optional)
	Fine sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on a medium heat. When it starts to foam, add the corn along with ½ teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until deeply golden and the butter has turned a rich, nutty brown. Strain the corn through a heatproof sieve set over a bowl, and reserve the butter for later. Add the corn back to the pan and place on a medium low heat. Add the flour, sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt and stir to coat, then gradually whisk in the milk and cook for another 3 minutes or so, until thickened. Set aside to cool slightly, about 10 minutes, then fold in the cheeses and jalapeño.
Cut the filo sheets in half lengthways, so that you have 6 long strips, and cover them with a damp tea towel. Working with one strip at a time, lay it lengthways in front of you and spoon 4 tablespoons of filling onto the bottom left hand corner, leaving a 1cm border around the edges. Fold the bottom right hand corner over the filling to create a triangle. Keep folding the triangle over itself until you reach the end of the strip, then brush a little of the reserved brown butter on the last flap to seal (like a samosa). Repeat with the remaining strips and filling.
Transfer the pies to a parchment lined baking tray and brush with the remaining brown butter, followed by a sprinkle of tajin, if using. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden and crisp.
Serve warm or transfer to a wire rack (this will keep the pies crisp) to cool completely.