Food & Wine
Beef and spinach filo pies
These are good hot or cold. They travel well, so are great for taking to a picnic or as a contribution to a meal. Serve with a crunchy green salad.
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely diced
- 1 stick celery, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons chopped coriander
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- ¼ cup raisins
- 600g beef mince
- 2 handfuls baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
- 16 sheets filo pastry
- 200ml plain unsweetened yoghurt
- Handful of mint
Method:
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over moderate heat and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of the coriander, the pine nuts and raisins. Fry gently, without browning, for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft.
- Add the mince, increase the heat and fry, breaking the mince up as it heats. Once the mince is cooked through and crumbly, add the spinach and tomatoes, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put 2 sheets of filo on top of each other on a clean surface. Place one-eighth of the mince mixture at one end.
- Fold the sides inwards and roll up like a large spring roll. Put on an oven tray with the end of the rolled-up pastry underneath.
- Repeat for the other 7, placing them side by side on the tray. Brush the pastry lightly with oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until well browned.
- Meanwhile, put a quarter of the yoghurt in a small food processor and add the mint and the remaining coriander. Process until the herbs are well chopped.
- Stir this mixture into the remaining yoghurt, taste and season. Serve the pies with the yoghurt on the side.
Written by Ray McVinnie. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz. Image: Kieran Scott.
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