One of my favourite recipes is the rustic filo pastry filled with the goodness of pumpkin, spinach and feta. It is quite easy to prepare except that each filo sheet needs to be lightly brushed with butter so it sticks to each other to form the pocket. This pastry makes a suitable summer dish for lunch.
Ingredients:
9 sheets of filo, cut into halves
cherry tomatoes
half pumpkin
100g baby spinach
1 large onion, sliced
100g feta cheese, cut into cubes
50g butter
2 tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Peel off pumpkin skin and cut the flesh into cubes.
3. Cook the pumpkin in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes.
4. Add honey to the cooked pumpkin cubes and mix well.
5. Slice an onion and fry the slices in a frying pan to caramelise them.
6. Remove the caramelised onions and set them aside.
7. Prepare the filo pastry baskets by cutting 9 sheets into halves.
8. Melt butter in the microwave and brush each filo sheet slightly with butter to form a thick rectangle.
9. Spread caramelised onions on the base of each filo rectangle.
10. Fill each rectangle with pumpkin.
11. Add cherry tomatoes to each rectangle and spread baby spinach evenly on the ingredients.
12. Tuck in feta cheese cubes in between the ingredients in the filo rectangle.
13. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
14. Fold up the sides of the filo to form a rustic pocket.
15. Brush the sides lightly with butter to ensure they stand upright to form rustic pockets.
16. Bake for 25 minutes in the oven.
Serves 4
The result is a sumptuous and healthy meal. The filo pastry can be substituted with puff pastry. It is indeed a colourful dish associated with all things summer. For a more cheesy flavour, try topping up the ingredients with shredded cheddar cheese. There is nothing better than melt-in-the-mouth cheesy topping that makes every bite tantalising. [plinker count= 2].
