Pope Hats!

I'm kind of behind the curve on this one, but someone asked me for this recipe recently and, well, I haven't posted anything about the new pope. I'm sure you've heard enough about him already. These yummy appetizers, on the other hand, are always very popular. Unfortunately, while I recognize that photos or at least diagrams would help, there aren't going to be any at this time.

You'll need:

• a package of won-ton wrappers
• a large can of tuna, or two regular ones (packed in water) -- but you can also use leftover grilled tuna - about 12 ounces or so
• a package of feta cheese
• a jar of capers
• some kalamata olives, pitted
• a bunch of fresh parsley
• olive oil
• two egg whites, lightly beaten
• a large container of plain yogurt
• a bottle of "Inner Beauty" hot sauce (or any very spicy, curry-based hot sauce)

The first thing is to mix up the tuna filling: Drain the tuna and put it in a bowl with 2-3 ounces of crumbled feta, a few tablespoons of capers (drained), about 25 or so chopped kalamata olives (if all you have are those gross black olives in cans, just leave em out), about a third to half of the parsley, rinsed & chopped (yes, it'll seem like a lot), and a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Stir it up. It shouldn't be all creamy like tuna salad. If it doesn't seem to hold together at all, you can add a spoonful or two of yogurt, but it shouldn't be necessary. I don't usually salt it, but use your best judgment. Pepper is good.

Chill the tuna stuff for a little while if you have time.

For the next part, you need to clear a space to work, and have a cookie sheet ready with olive oil sprayed or spread on it. Mix the egg white with a few tablespoons of water (more for ex-large or jumbo eggs). If you're totally freaked out by having to separate an egg white from the egg yolk, just use warm water. Nothing bad will happen. Put it in a small, shallow bowl or a teacup.

I like to do the next part on a large plate or spare cookie sheet. When you get good at it, you can do a bunch at a time, but for now just start with one. This takes much longer to describe than to actually do:

Place one won-ton wrapper in the center of the plate with the corners pointing North, East, South, and West (i.e., sort of a diamond shape) before you.

Brush the surface of it, all the way to the edges, with some of the egg white or warm water. If you don't have a pastry brush, use the back of a spoon or your fingers.

Place about a teaspoonful or so of the tuna filling in the wrapper, just slightly to the north of the imaginary equator of it. Not too big a blob. You're going to want to fold it over and seal the edges, so make sure there's enough but not too much.

Very gently take the Southernmost tip and fold it upwards to line up with the Northernmost tip.

Press all the edges together, being careful not to trap any air bubbles. It might take a little practice.

You'll have a triangle shape now, with the longest edge, the one with the fold, facing toward you.

Just imagine now that that edge is divided into thirds. Don't do anything yet. You're going to fold the left third over the center third and then the right third over that.

Gently pick up the Western point and fold it over the center third of the item. Do the same with the Eastern point, and sort of press them together without pressing them on the filling, using more egg white or water if needed. It's easy to pop the damn thing at this point so be careful.

Doesn't it sort of look like a pope hat? Place it on the oiled cookie sheet and do another, and another, until the cookie sheet is full or you're just plain tired of doing it any more. You can put them fairly close together on the cookie sheet.

Spray or brush or drizzle olive oil all over them.

Bake at 375F for about 10-15 minutes or until the outside is golden brown & crisp.

You can deep fry them if you like, but I don't really like to do that as it's kind of a pain in the ass. But go ahead, if you like that kind of thing. If you're frying them you need to be even more extra careful about no air bubbles and maintaining a good seal on all the edges.

For a dipping sauce, I generally just mix some Inner Beauty Hot Sauce & some yogurt (fat free, lowfat, whatever). I add the hot sauce a spoonful at a time to the yogurt on account of it is so fucking hot that it gives me the hiccups. So be careful.

Mango chutney is good too. Sometimes I mix yogurt and sambal oeleck (an Indonesian hot pepper paste). Or berbere (a north african spice mixture) paste.

In fact, this recipe is based on something once made in my presence by a Tunisian friend's mother. She left them in triangle shapes, and they were filled with just tuna, feta, olives, and olive oil, and a spot of berbere paste inside and then some thinner, similar-tasting sauce for dipping.