Angela Day uses the feather-light layers of phyllo pasty to make sweet and savoury dishes.
How to handle the pastry
* Thaw overnight in the fridge in its packaging.
* Prepare all ingredients for your recipe before opening the pastry.
* Remove the number of sheets required for the recipe and re-roll remaining pastry and seal in a plastic bag.
* Once opened and unrolled, always keep the pastry covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. This happens very quickly and will make the pastry brittle and dry and very difficult to work with.
* Phyllo pastry tears easily, so handle it gently. This is often not a problem as it is easily patched by brushing with butter and placing it where required.
* Each sheet is usually brushed with melted butter, margarine or oil before being topped with another sheet.
* To cut the pastry, use a sharp knife so as not to tear the sheets.
* If making a large pie or baklava in a tray, cut through all the layers of pastry before baking so that the baked product will be easier to cut and serve.
* Phyllo pastry triangles or parcels can be prepared and frozen until required. Bake straight from the freezer.
* Make sure any fillings used in phyllo pastry are cold. Hot fillings will make the pastry disintegrate.
Mediterranean phyllo tart
Ingredients
1 roll of phyllo pastry
60g butter, melted
200g ricotta cheese
2 eggs
30ml prepared pesto
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
5 baby marrows, thinly sliced lengthwise
100g cherry tomatoes
1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
45ml black olives, pitted and halved
basil leaves for garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Unroll the phyllo pastry and place a sheet on the work surface. Brush with melted butter.
Repeat with the rest of the phyllo sheets until the whole roll is used up.
Place the buttered phyllo rectangle on a baking sheet, rolling up the edges.
Combine the ricotta, eggs, pesto and lemon zest in a bowl and mix well.
Season with salt and pepper.
Spread a layer over the phyllo, then scatter over the baby marrows, tomatoes, red onion and olives.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden.
Remove and garnish with basil leaves.
Samoosa pie
Serves 6
Ingredients
30ml oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
500g lamb mince
30ml curry powder
15ml paprika
5ml ground cumin
5ml turmeric
2 orange sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
500ml lamb or chicken stock
250ml frozen peas
250ml chopped fresh coriander
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
4 sheets of phyllo
30g butter, melted
15ml cumin seeds
Method
Heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the mince and cook for a further 5 minutes, until browned. Stir in the spices and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes and stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potato has softened and liquid has reduced. Stir in the peas, coriander, lemon zest and juice and simmer for 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour into an oven-proof dish. Brush a sheet of phyllo with butter and cut into four. Scrunch each into a ball and place on top of the mince. Repeat with the remaining phyllo until all the mince is covered.
Brush with extra butter and sprinkle over the cumin seeds. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 10-15 minutes until golden.
Spinach and feta pie
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
30ml olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
10ml chopped garlic
500g spinach, cooked and chopped
250g feta cheese, crumbled
250ml grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
500g packet of phyllo pastry
100g butter melted
Method
Heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic over a medium heat until soft. Add the spinach and cook for a minute.
Remove from the heat and add the cheeses. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add in the eggs. Allow to cool.
Open the pastry and cover it with a damp tea towel.
Brush a 20x30cm oven-proof dish with melted butter. Layer half the pastry on the base and sides of the dish, brushing each layer with melted butter. Spread over the cooled filling.
Top with the remaining pastry, brushing each sheet with melted butter.
Use a sharp knife to cut the top layer of pastry into squares.
Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Remove and cool slightly before serving.
Nutty phyllo logs
Makes 16
Ingredients
250ml walnuts,finely chopped
80ml castor sugar, plus 30ml extra for sprinkling
15ml grated orange zest
3ml ground cinnamon
125ml cranberries, finely chopped
8 sheets of phyllo pastry
60g butter, melted
melted chocolate for drizzling
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a baking tray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine the nuts, 80ml sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and cranberries in a small bowl.
Place one sheet of phyllo on a clean, dry surface. Brush with melted butter, then lay a second sheet on top of the first and brush with butter.
Sprinkle all over with half the nut mixture.
Lay a sheet of phyllo over the nuts and brush with butter. Lay a second over the first and brush with butter.
Using a sharp knife, cut the large phyllo rectangle lengthwise into four strips, then in half crosswise to make eight â??smaller rectangles.
Roll each strip up into a neat log.
Place on the prepared tray, brush with butter and sprinkle over a little sugar.
Repeat with remaining phyllo and nut mixture.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Remove and cool. Drizzle with melted chocolate and serve with chocolate dipping sauce if desired.
Phyllo fig cheesecake
4 sheets phyllo pastry
60g butter, melted
250g thick cream cheese
80ml castor sugar
2 eggs, beaten
5ml vanilla extract
10ml lemon rind
45ml lemon juice
5-6 fresh figs, halved
45ml honey
Method
Lay a sheet of pastry on your work surface and brush it with melted butter. Fold it in half.
Repeat with remaining sheets, stacking them on top of each other.
Brush a rectangular, loose-bottom pan with butter and line it with the stack of pastry sheets. Tuck in the edges of the pastry to neaten.
Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until well combined.
Add the eggs, vanilla, lemon rind and juice and mix until well blended.
Pour this mixture onto the pastry and bake at 160°C for 25-30 minutes until the filling is set.
Switch off the oven and leave the tart for 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
Before serving, arrange the figs on top and drizzle with honey.
The Angela Day cooking column is published in The Star, Pretoria News, Cape Argus and Daily News