Thought 4 Food

International Philly Cheesesteaks

With steak, sautéed peppers/mushrooms/onions, and cheese, these sandwiches are a spin-off of classic Philly-style cheesesteak sandwiches.  However, they take on a completely new flair by being packaged in Greek phyllo dough.  They’re baked until the phyllo is golden and crispy, and the end product actually looks similar to Chinese eggrolls.  They’ve got something for everyone…

International Philly Cheesesteaks:

(Yield:  24 sandwiches, 2-3 sandwiches per serving)

Colorful Veggies

Thinly Slicing Across the Grain

~1 lb thinly sliced beef, thinly sliced across the grain

6 oz fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

2 bell peppers (red, green, yellow, orange, or any combination), thinly sliced

2 TB olive oil

~½ tsp grill seasoning (if you don’t have this, just use salt and pepper to taste)

~1 TB Worcestershire sauce

~4 c fresh baby spinach (optional)

~12 oz cheese (cheeses that work well are Bleu, cheddar, American, mozzarella, and pretty much anything else you can think of)

2 packages Athens phyllo dough

Cooking spray

~¼ c sesame seeds (optional)

Cheese Choices, Clockwise From the Top: Crumbled Bleu, Mozarella, White Cheddar, Sliced American

Preheat the oven to 400F; allow the phyllo dough to come to room temperature.  Heat the oil in a large pan (with a lid) on medium-high and add the mushrooms; sauté for ~5 minutes with the lid off, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the peppers and onions, put the lid on the pan, and sauté for ~5 more minutes (stirring occasionally to make sure that the veggies don’t burn; if necessary, you can add a splash of water).  Turn the heat up to high and push the veggies to one half of the pan; add the meat and let it sauté separate from the veggies (the meat should only take ~3 minutes to brown since it’s cut so thinly).  Once the meat has browned, stir it into the veggies; turn the pan off and set the meat and veggies aside to cool slightly.

Mushrooms Cook Up Better if They're in the Pan Alone At First

Adding the Peppers and Onions to the Mushrooms

Push the Veggies to One Side to Brown the Meat

Each sandwich will contain 4 phyllo sheets; make sure to use a damp towel to cover the phyllo that you’re not working with.  Lay a sheet of phyllo down and lightly spray it with cooking spray; put another sheet on top of it and lightly spray it; continue two more times until you have a stack of 4 phyllo sheets.  Place the cheese (~.5 oz per sandwich) across the center of the prepared phyllo; if you’re using spinach, place a few leaves on top of the cheese; spoon ~3 TB of the steak and veggies onto the spinach.  Fold the long sides over the filling, and then fold one end over the middle and roll it into what looks like a large eggroll.  Repeat this until all sandwiches are rolled. 

Preparing the Filling

Folding the Long Sides

Rolling Over One End

Line the sandwiches up seam side down on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Lightly spray each sandwich with cooking spray and if using sesame seeds, sprinkle them on top.  Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

Before Baking

Golden, Crispy, and Delicious