Sirocco Swirls
Travel is no more than a distant dream at the moment. Surrounded as we are by so much uncertainty, two attainable forms of escape are through reading and cooking. So, what better way to conjure up exotic fantasies and feel like you're going on holiday than by delving into cookbooks!
I know I'm guilty of turning to the internet for recipe inspiration and frequently end up trawling through BBC good food. Whilst their recipe archive is both extensive and easy to sift through, there's nothing like leafing through pages of beautiful cook books and reading the author's narrative alongside the recipe.
So, as the first instalment in a series of posts dedicated to my brimming shelves, I present the most delicious mushroom, artichoke and feta filo swirls from Sabrina Ghayour's exquisite book, Sirocco
Ingredients:
500g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
500g artichoke hearts in oil
1 tbsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
200g feta cheese
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon, finely grated
6 sheets of filo pastry
1 beaten egg (to glaze)
handful of sesame seeds
finely ground black pepper
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
2. Make the filling: heat a large saucepan over a high heat and add the mushrooms. Do not stir for a couple of minutes so the mushrooms dry out.
3. Then add 3-4 tbsp of the artichoke oil and stir the mushrooms quickly to prevent them sticking. Once they have absorbed the oil, stop stirring and fry a few minutes more until cooked.
3. Add the thyme leaves, stir once more then transfer the mushrooms to a plate to cool down.
4. Drain off the remaining artichoke oil (keep it for salad dressings) and roughly chop the artichokes and place in a mixing bowl.
5. Crumble in the feta, add the lemon zest and season with black pepper.
6. Then add the cold cooked mushrooms and lightly combine the ingredients.
7. Lay a sheet of filo on a clean work surface. Ensure the longer edges of the pastry are parallel with the end of your work surface. Divide the filling mixture into 6 equal portions. Form 1 portion into a sausage shape along the edge of the pastry sheet closest to you, leaving a 2.5cm border.
8. Fold the corners of the pastry closest to your body towards the centre, over the ends to secure the filling.
9. Roll the long edge of the pastry that is closest to you over the filling, then continue to roll up the pastry loosely, to encase the filling. Stop 5cm short of the end of the pastry sheet.
10. Brush the end of the sheet with beaten egg, then continue to roll to the end of the pastry sheet.
11. Press the pastry together at either end of the roll to seal it. Now shape the tube into a tight coil.
12. Place the coil on the prepared baking tray and brush with beaten egg. Repeat the above process with the remaining sheets and filling.
13. Sprinkle with some black sesame seeds and bake for 25 mins until golden brown.
14. Serve immediately or eat cold for lunch the next day!
