Make Ahead Lemon Parmesan Asparagus Phyllo Appetizers

I grew up in a French Canadian family so we always opened gifts on Christmas Eve.   Once my sons moved away I started hosting  Christmas Eve leaving Christmas day for the other families.  As its an evening party I always host with lots of different appetizers.  I like to mix hot and cold appetizers.  The family snacks on the various cold appetizers keeping one eye on the oven.  waiting for the next round of special hot Christmas appetizers are ready like these Make Ahead Asparagus in Phyllo Wraps.  These appetizers feature a very light lemon flavour I love and hope you do as well.

The actual recipe makes at least 30 of these rolls, the picture shows a few to give you an example.  I hoarded the rest into my freezer.

I am excited about today’s post, I need all the new and fresh appetizer recipes I can get.

Welcome to Day 5 of the Fourth Annual 12 Days of Christmas Series!

Make ahead Christmas appetizers are my favorite.   I don’t enjoy cooking and the thought of having to do more than warm a bunch of delicious nibblies would ruin my holiday.  Instead, I spend a couple of days with Christmas carols playing, Irish cream coffee nearby and happily make all sorts of delicious nibblies and one huge mess.   At the end of all that cooking and prepping I wash the floors, polish the appliances and forget about cooking knowing I have lots of appetizers premade.

Lemon Asparagus Filo Pastry Appetizer Recipe

Ingredients

Package of phyllo pastry ( you will have leftovers)

30 thin spears of  asparagus (a large bunch)

Whole lemon

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Butter (about half a cup melted)

Pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make sure you buy nice thin asparagus, wash it thoroughly and cut off the bottom woody portion, about an inch maybe two inches.

Place in a bowl.

Melt two tablespoons of butter (measuring doesn’t need to be accurate), crush and add 1 clove of garlic, the zest of half a fresh lemon.

Pour this over the asparagus, and stir to coat.  Set aside.

Prepare the Phyllo

Open the phyllo pastry, and cover with a slightly damp towel.    While working with your sheets of pastry keep the remaining filo sheets covered with the clean towel.

Start with layering six sheets of the filo.   I like to work on parchment paper.  Lay a layer of phyllo onto parchment paper,  Brush very lightly with butter.  Repeat until you have six layers.  Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of the grated parmesan and add pepper to taste.

Cut the phyllo pastry into 1/2 inch strips along the long side.  Then cut each strip in half.  You will end up with about 22 little strips.

Wrap the strips around the asparagus starting at the tip.  I found the easiest way is to place the asparagus on an angle, start at the tip and then roll the asparagus.

Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until brown.

Like I said earlier, I just baked a sampling to show you.  The rest are bundled up in parchment layered packages of 12 and then frozen.

Personally, I like to eat mine without dip,  but it can be served with a simple sour cream dip if you like.

Lemon Sour Cream Dip

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Place everything in a bowl and stir.  You can’t get much simpler than that.

Preparing Frozen  Lemon Parmesan Asparagus Appetizers

To serve, take them out of the freezer, open the parchment lay it out onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 until golden.

Happy Munching,  Leanna

Enjoy the rest of the recipes I know I am looking forward to them.

Scroll down for many more Holiday Party Food Ideas for your holiday season!

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Make ahead Christmas Appetizers Asparagus in Phyllo

Print Recipe

Prep Time:45 minutes mins

Cook Time:20 minutes mins

Total Time:1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 package phyllo pastry you will have leftovers
• 3- thin spears asparagus large bunch
• 1 whole lemon
• ½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup melted butter
• pepper to taste

Lemon Sour Cream Dip

• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Make sure you buy nice thin asparagus, wash it thoroughly and cut off the bottom woody portion, about an inch maybe two inches.
• Melt two tablespoons of butter (measuring doesn't need to be accurate), crush and add 1 clove of garlic, the zest of half a fresh lemon.
• Pour this over the asparagus, and stir to coat.  Set aside.

Prepare the Phyllo Pastry

• Open the phyllo pastry, and cover with a slightly damp towel.    While working with your sheets of pastry keep the remaining filo sheets covered with the clean towel.
• Start with layering six sheets of the filo.   I like to work on parchment paper.  Lay a layer of phyllo onto parchment paper,  Brush very lightly with butter.  Repeat until you have six layers.  Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of the grated parmesan and add pepper to taste.
• Cut the phyllo pastry into 1/2 inch strips along the long side.  Then cut each strip in half.  You will end up with about 22 little strips.
• Wrap the strips around the asparagus starting at the tip.  I found the easiest way is to place the asparagus on an angle, start at the tip and then roll the asparagus.
• Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until brown.

Lemon Sour Cream Dip

• Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir.

Preparing Frozen Lemon Parmesan Asparagus Appetizers

• Remove from free, open the parchment, place on baking sheet and bake at 350 until golden.

Servings: 30