Angela Day
LAMB TRIANGLES
Makes 18-20
30ml olive oil
1 onion, chopped
10ml chopped garlic
500g lamb mince
15ml ground cumin
5ml ground cinnamon
2ml ground allspice
2ml ground ginger
30ml tomato paste
50g toasted pine nuts
45ml chopped coriander
80ml pomegranate rubies
500g phyllo pastry
125g butter, melted
Heat the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the mince and turn up the heat.
Fry, stirring to break up the lumps, until the mince is well-browned. Add the spices and cook for a minute. Stir in the tomato paste, remove from heat and add the pine nuts, coriander and pomegranates. Cool completely.
Layer two sheets of pastry, brushing with butter. Fold the sheets in half then cut in half. Place a spoonful of filling near the bottom of the strip and fold over diagonally to form a triangle. Continue folding the triangle over itself to the end of the pastry strip.
Brush with butter and place on a baking tray. Repeat with the remaining pastry until all the filling has been used.
Bake at 180degC for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove and serve warm.
BACON AND COURGETTE PIE
Serves 6-8
200g streaky bacon
1 red onion, sliced
10ml chopped garlic
750g courgettes, grated
a few sprigs of thyme, stripped
salt and pepper
140g feta, crumbled
6 sheets of phyllo pastry
80g butter, melted
250ml cream
4 eggs
Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel. Chop roughly. Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the courgettes and fry until soft.
Remove from the heat and return the bacon to the pan. Add the thyme and season well.
Mix in the feta. Cool completely. Layer all the sheets of phyllo, brushing each layer with butter. Use the stack of pastry to line a 20cm spring form pan.
Trim the top edges and fold them under toward the edge of the pan to neaten. Add the courgette mixture.
Combine the cream and eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour this over the courgette mixture.
Bake at 180degC for about 40-50 minutes until pastry is golden and the filling is set. Serve warm.
APPLE CRANBERRY STRUDEL
Makes 1
125ml castor sugar
5 green apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges
100g pecan nuts, roughly chopped
5ml cinnamon
160ml dried cranberries
10 sheets of phyllo pastry
100g butter, melted
120ml sugar
160ml dried breadcrumbs
Put the castor sugar in a large frying pan and place over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves and turns golden. Add the apples and cook gently until the apples are soft and the caramel has dissolved. Add the nuts, cinnamon and cranberries and mix well. Cool completely.
Lay a sheet of phyllo on your work surface and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle over about 15ml sugar.
Top with another sheet of pastry. Continue layering with the butter and sugar until you have used 5 sheets of pastry.
With the long side facing you, sprinkle breadcrumbs at the base of the pastry, leaving a border of 3cm on each side and about 8cm from your edge.
Pile the apple mixture on top of the breadcrumbs. Fold the pastry over the apple mixture, fold in the sides and roll up to enclose the filling.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and bake at 180degC for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve with whipped cream.
SESAME NUT ROLLS
Makes 8
SYRUP
500ml sugar
500ml water
125ml honey
2 strips of lemon peel
45ml lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
3-4 cloves
FILLING
250ml sesame seeds
300g walnuts
10ml ground cinnamon
45ml sugar
300g phyllo pastry
100g butter, melted
SYRUP: Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil for 5-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Chill in the fridge for a few hours.
FILLING: Toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan until golden. Set aside to cool. Process the nuts, cinnamon and sugar in a processor until finely chopped. Add the sesame seeds and process to mix.
Layer two sheets of pastry with melted butter. Fold in half to form a rectangle. Sprinkle about 80-100ml of the nut mixture over the pastry and roll up tightly from the long edge. Put the roll on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Repeat with remaining pastry and nuts. Pack the rolls side by side on the tray. Bake at 180degC for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and pour the cold syrup over. Allow to stand until cool, spooning syrup over the rolls frequently. Cut the rolls into pieces and serve.
ANGELA DAY
The Angela Day cookery column is published in The Star, the Cape Argus, the Daily News and the Pretoria News.
* For household queries, recipes and tips, call The Angela Day Helpline at 011 836 7181 from 8.30am to 12.30pm weekdays, or e-mail Janice at [email protected].
* See www.angeladay.co.za.
* Follow us on Twitter @verveangeladay
Saturday Star