Phyllo dough is the NeNe of Culinary Housewives– super high maintenance, super rich, but oh-so-worth the drama.

Making the filling for this is easy, so get that over first, so you can concentrate on the dough!

$$$  NeNe would agree. $$$

Filling:

1.3 pound package of ground turkey

Spice Mixture (recipe below)

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 block (4 oz) of full-fat cream cheese

3 Tb adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles)

1/4 cup (handful) of chopped fresh cilantro

Spice Mixture:

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions: Brown turkey meat (do not drain) and add spice mixture with the chicken stock.  Simmer for 10 minutes on low to combine and reduce broth.  Add cream cheese, adobo sauce and cilantro, stir until cream cheese melts and combines with turkey mixture.

NOW PAY ATTENTION, LOVELIES.  Here’s the phyllo fun….

Phyllo– (pronounced FEE-lo, by the way, which I botched for years…I thought it was FIE-lo) is paper thin sheets of unleavened dough.  You get it in the freezer section near the frozen pies/pastries at the grocery store.  Let the package defrost for an hour or two before you attempt to use it.

You’re going to need 10 single phyllo sheets and a stick of butter melted.  Yes, a whole stick.  It’s worth it, I promise.

It’s easiest to use a large baking sheet with tin foil that is sprayed with some cooking spray.  Then lay out your first sheet of Phyllo.  Using a spoon, or a basting brush, drizzle some butter on the phyllo sheet.  It doesn’t have to be even, just get it around all four corners and some in the middle.

Then, add a second sheet, brush on more butter.  Add a third sheet, brush on more butter.  Add a fourth sheet, and so on and so on, till you get ten, (yes, 10!) sheets of buttered phyllo piled on top of one another.  It’s OK if the sheets rip a little, they’re all going to be baked in a layer so no one will notice if there’s a tear.

Next, take that creamy, chipotle turkey mixture and spoon it out lengthwise, close to the edge of phyllo so you can start to roll it up.

Then, start to roll up the phyllo dough burrito style…be gentle, cuz it’s a delicate process!

End with seam side down and brush with a little more butter on top of the roll.

Once you have your turkey roll buttered (again)! Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until browned.

I serve it with some guaco-cream on the side.  The fresh garlic gives it a real kick and is the perfect companion to the turkey roll.  Here’s that recipe:

Guaco-Cream

Mix in food processor:

1 avocado

2 garlic cloves

1/2 lime

pinch of kosher salt

1 tsp honey