I love cooking with filo pastry. Once you have practiced on a few (the first few you make may not be great, but it gets easier) you start to really enjoy it. Filo's can be made into large pie's or small parcels. They can be sweet or savoury. The filling is always cooked and cooled first, before placing in the filo pastry and then cooked just before you serve it.
Filo Pastry - Never buy filo that has been frozen, it cracks and is too hard to work with.
- Cover the filo that you are not working with, with a slightly damp tea towel so it does not dry out.
Freeze - You can freeze your parcels before you cook them, and then defrost and place in the oven until golden brown.
Chicken, Cranberry and Spinach Filo Recipe
Recipe for cranberry sauce below.
Makes 4 - you need a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper
400 grm boneless chicken breast divided into 4
1 bay leaf / 1/4 onion
4 tbsp cranberry sauce - see below how you can make a healthy sauce
Handful spinach
Olive oil / small bowl / pastry brush
Method
1 - In a small pot, place the chicken cover with water, add bay leaf and 1/4 onion, simmer for about 10 mins or until chicken it cooked, don't over cook it.
2 - Recipe for cranberry sauce is below if you have fresh or frozen cranberries.
3 - Wash spinach, and place in a pot with a lid in a tiny bit of water, or in a steamer. Cook quickly, and strain and cool.
4 - Remove chicken, cool. (keep the liquid as this is now chicken stock)
5 - On your bench, have your filo, small bowl with oil and pastry brush, oven tray - lined, spinach, chicken, sauce and a knife.
6 - See photo's below on how to make these filo's.
1 - Brush ist sheet with oil and lay another sheet on top.
2 - Brush oil on top of 2nd sheet.
3 - Lay another sheet on top. You now have 3 sheets.
4 - With a knife, cut down the middle, so you have two long filo's.
5 - Place some spinach in the right-hand corner, spoonful sauce then the chicken.
6 - Brush with oil all the way down the sides.
7 - Now you are going to make a triangle, see photo's.
8 - When you have finished brush the top with oil, so it does not dry out.
9 - Bake in the oven 200c for about 20 mins or until golden brown then serve.
Cranberry Sauce
300 gr frozen or fresh cranberries
1/2 cup water or orange juice
1/2 cup honey
Method
1 - In a pot, simmer on low the cranberry mixture until it thickens.
You can add 1 tsp cornflour mixed with a little water, to thicken it.
Cool - this can be frozen and used for pies and pizza's