Goats’ Cheese & Honeycomb Filo Cigars

These filo cigars are so versatile, and the combination of goats’ cheese and honey is golden. Serve as a pre-dinner canapé or an impressive dessert that doubles as a cheese platter — because any dessert with cheese is a winner in my books.

Makes: 4 as a dessert, 6–8 as an entrée
Takes: 35 minutes

Ingredients: 
4 sheets filo pastry
50g butter, melted
100g soft goats’ cheese
2 Tbsp honey
8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
Honeycomb
Extra fresh thyme leaves, to garnish 

Method: Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Unroll your first sheet of filo pastry. Brush it generously with butter, and place another sheet of filo on top. Crumble half the goats’ cheese along the horizontal length of the pastry, approximately 2cm from the bottom edge. Drizzle goats’ cheese with half the honey. Top with a sprinkling of thyme leaves.

Starting from the bottom, roll the pastry up and over the goats’ cheese, and continue rolling until you have a long cigar. Brush with a little extra butter to seal. Repeat with the 2 remaining sheets of pastry and the remaining goats’ cheese, honey and thyme.

Cut both cigars to your desired length, and place them on the lined baking tray. Brush with the remaining butter and bake for 15–20 minutes, until golden-brown and crispy. Serve immediately, with a drizzle of honeycomb and a sprinkling of extra thyme leaves to garnish.

Filo 101: Filo sheets tend to dry out quickly, so store them under a damp tea towel while you’re not working with them.

Tip: Substitute the thyme for your favourite herb or spice — fennel seeds, cinnamon and lavender all work well.