Feta & Spinach Filo Triangles

The Great British Bake Off Big Book of Baking

https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/feta-and-spinach-filo-triangles • Posted by Ebury Publishing

There’s plenty of filling in these crunchy filo pastries, and they are substantial enough to pop into a lunchbox or take on a picnic. If you can’t find tender young spinach, you can use larger leaves, but remove the stalks before weighing. MAKES TEN

You will need

300 g Fresh young Spinach leaves 2 Spring Onions , finely sliced 1 Garlic clove, crushed 1 tbsp Olive Oil 2 tsp Lemon Juice Freshly grated Nutmeg , to taste 1 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan Cheese 40 g Drained Feta Cheese , crumbled 6 Sheets Filo Pastry (each about 48 x 25.5cm), total weight about 270g, thawed if frozen 50 g Unsalted Butter , melted 1 Medium free-range Egg , beaten, to glaze 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds , for sprinkling Salt and Black Pepper 1 x 9.5cm plain Round Cutter A Baking Sheet , lined with baking paper

Project Budget

Time

Difficulty

Description

There’s plenty of filling in these crunchy filo pastries, and they are substantial enough to pop into a lunchbox or take on a picnic. If you can’t find tender young spinach, you can use larger leaves, but remove the stalks before weighing. MAKES TEN

Instructions

1. Thoroughly wash and drain the spinach. Pack into a large pan, set over medium heat and stir for about 4 minutes until the spinach wilts and softens. Tip into a colander in the sink and leave to drain. (If using microwaveable packs, follow the instructions and then drain.) When the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much water as you possibly can. Put the spinach on a chopping board and roughly chop. Tip into a mixing bowl.

2. Add the spring onions, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper and nutmeg to taste. Mix well, then mix in the Parmesan and feta. Taste, and add more pepper and nutmeg or a pinch of salt as needed. Cover and set aside.

3. Heat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Unwrap the filo sheets, then cover them with clingfilm so they don’t dry out while you’re working with them. Lay one sheet on the worktop and brush lightly with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top, making sure the edges line up, and brush with butter. Repeat until you have a stack of 6 sheets. Use the round cutter to cut out 10 discs from the pastry stack.

4. Put a rounded tablespoon of spinach filling in the middle of each pastry disc – don’t flatten the mound. Lightly brush the pastry edge with beaten egg. With your fingers, fold and pinch 3 ‘sides’ of the pastry disc up around the filling to make a ‘three-cornered hat’ triangle effect with some filling visible in the centre. The triangles don’t have to look neat, so don’t worry if some of the pastry starts to flake at the seams.

5. Set the triangles slightly apart on the lined baking sheet. Brush the pastry lightly with the beaten egg, then sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Bake in the heated oven for 20–25 minutes until a good golden brown and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.