Spicy Fillo Parcels

"You may feel that you have eaten too much...But this pastry is like feathers - it is like snow. It is in fact good for you, a digestive!"

Spicy Fillo Parcels

I was so looking forward to my weekend as we had some close friends coming over for tea. We see each other often and our children have a good time playing together, especially now that the summer is here!

However, this time I wanted to make something different to the samosas and rasgulas (Indian sweets). I thought about what to make that had not been made by either of our friends Get togethers. Then I remembered one of my family members once made these outstanding Filo parcels with vegetables, which were absolutely gorgeous. I thought a spicy version of these would be perfect for the get together.

Here is the recipe I made:

Spicy Filo Parcels:

Ingredients - see pictures below for visual information:

75g or 3oz butter or margarine
1 inch piece of ginger (chopped)
4oz or 1 cup bean sprouts
The following 3 vegetables - sliced into thin shreds – as shown in pictures
2 celery sticks
2 carrots
4 spring onions
½ lemon juiced
1 or 2 chillies – optional - (chopped finely)
Fillo Pastry – cut into pieces of about 15cm X 15 cm (roughly do not have to be precise). I used Just-roll Filo Pastry
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Thinly slice the celery, carrots and spring onions, as in picture.

2. Heat half the butter/margarine in a large frying pan. Add ginger and chillies and cook for a couple of minutes.

3. Add vegetables (carrots, celery, spring onions and bean sprouts). Add salt to taste.

4. Stir fry. You will get the lovely chilly aroma and remove from heat when the vegetables look done. This should take about 5 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and let the vegetables cool, and put the oven on to 1800 C.

6. In the meantime, ensure the Filo pastry is cut to roughly 15 cm square pieces. Do not panic if you have cut yours into rectangles instead. Keep the Filo pastry wrapped in cling film or a damp tea towel while using.

7. Melt the butter. Lay one piece of Filo pastry sheet, brush with butter. Layer the second piece in a criss-cross shape (as in picture) and butter this too. Carry on until you have 4 layers. Butter the last layer.

8. Spoon some of the vegetable mixture on the middle of the last layer of pastry and then gather all the edges upwards. Pinching the middle to seal the filling. This will create a lovely little parcel.
9. Carry on with the remaining pastry and any broken pastry pieces I used at the end to create a final parcel. Just open them as far as they will go and keep layering, with butter in between.

10. Brush the completed parcels with butter and place on a baking tray. Bake for about 15 – 20 mins until golden brown. Keep checking, in case the tops are browning too fast, reduce heat to 1500 and cook for 10 mins.


Tips:

· You have various options with the fillings, you can be creative and make meaty ones or others that work very well are having a samosa filling in them (potato and peas). All fillings need to be pre-cooked before using in this recipe.

· Filo pastry can be bought in advance and frozen until required. These parcels can also be made the day before and refrigerated. Then simply heat in the oven at 1800 C for 10 mins.

Hard/Easy to make: Medium
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

I served these the first time at a ‘Get Together’, where we had 4 families that are close friends coming over. They were simply superb! I served them with Indian tea, infused with basil and the yummiest chocolate cookies. Check out my recipes and impress your friends too!