Tag: Phyllo

Recipe: Halloumi & Caramelised Onion filo rolls

I like filo pastry. I like using it because it’s so easy and it makes pies so much lighter than if you use a standard shortcrust. We use it a lot. This weekend I made a few spinach and feta pies but I had a few sheets of filo left over. Not wanting to let them go to waste I knocked up a plate of halloumi and caramelised onion & filo rolls. They’re so quick and easy to make and great for picnics and lunch-boxes too.

Halloumi, caramelised onion & filo rolls

Recipe: Halloumi & Caramelised Onion filo rolls

Ingredients:
1 pack of halloumi, sliced into 6 thick slices
3 sheets of filo pastry
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sugar
Salt & pepper
Small bowl of water

Method:
Put 2 teaspoons of olive oil into a frying pan, fry the sliced onion until soft but not brown. Add your teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and teaspoon of sugar, season with salt and pepper and stir. Set aside to cool.

Oil a baking tray and pre-heat your oven to 220. Take your filo and cut it in half (landscape, not portrait). You will need to work quickly with the filo to stop it drying out.

Take one half sheet of the filo, about an inch from the bottom of the filo place your slice of halloumi, top with some caramelised onion, dab the filo with water so when you fold, roll and press it the sheet will stick together. take the bottom inch and lay it over the halloumi, pat down, fold the sides in and then roll the halloumi down the length of the pastry making a roll. Place on your oiled baking sheet. Do the same with the rest of the halloumi.

Once all the rolls have been made (don’t worry if they look a bit rustic, it adds to their charm), brush with olive oil and put in the oven for ten minutes, check on them, they may need another few minutes, but don’t worry if they ooze a little, that’s normal and adds to their unctuousness.

Once they’re brown enough, remove from the oven and put on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes.

They’re lovely eaten still warm from the oven, or cold the next day. We liked them best with a tomato and chilli dipping sauce.

You can play about with this and maybe use sautéed peppers instead of the onion. I’m going to try making them with a thick chilli jam which I think would work really well. I’d not change the cheese though. The halloumi is great for this, it relaxes but doesn’t melt and has that amazing salty tang.

Recipe: Halloumi & Caramelised Onion filo rolls

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Vegetarian Recipe: Skinny Homity Pie

I had a falling out with my kitchen around Christmas time. The turkey gave me the evil eye, the sprouts turned on me and quite frankly the stuffing can get stuffed. So ever since then my usual culinary enthusiasm has been somewhat lacking. Perhaps it was the change of season or the pile of leftover new potatoes glaring at me from the fridge, but inspiration struck and I decided to do my take on the Cranks classic – Homity Pie.

Skinny Homity Pie

I’m not a massive fan of thick pastry, unless it’s covered in jam and cream with a big cherry on the top. So for a while I’d been musing about a homity pie made with filo. So I looked up the Cranks recipe, carefully read it, closed the book and put it back on the shelf. I was going to experiment and see if I could make it a bit healthier but just as tasty.

Skinny Homity Pie

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely diced
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (or dried if you don’t have fresh)
Enough sliced cooked potatoes to half fill your pie dish
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of mustard
3 or 4 pieces of shop bought filo pastry
50g grated Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Method:

Sweat one onion in a dab of olive oil, when soft add a crushed clove of garlic and as much fresh thyme as you fancy (I used a lot, thyme and onions are the best of friends and I have a huge thyme plant in the garden).

Slice up a pile of cooked potatoes; I used new potatoes because that’s what I had.

Whisk up 2 eggs, some salt and pepper and a goodly dollop of your favourite mustard.

Grab your favourite quiche or pie dish, give it a light coating of oil, lay a piece of filo in the dish, oil that piece of filo and artfully drape another on top, repeat the process until you’ve got 3 or 4 pieces of filo piled up, greased and ready to go.

Mix your sliced spuds and the unctuous onion mix together, spread a layer in the bottom of your dish, sprinkle a handful of cheese over and drizzle your mustardy egg over, layer the remaining spuds, pour over your leftover egg and top with another handful of grated cheese.

I baked it in the oven for 25 minutes at 220 degrees or until it looks golden and gorgeous.

I served it with a huge green salad and some oven roasted tomatoes. It was a huge hit with the boys, impressive as the toddler is (oh joy) going though a picky phase. This Homity Pie is monumentally easy to do, half quiche, half homity pie and it’s a real family favourite!

For more simple and tasty family recipes, click here.Vegetarian Recipe: Skinny Homity Pie