Spinach-Feta Filo Rolls

Filo pastry is mainly used in Middle-Eastern cuisine to prepare savoury as well as sweet pastries like Börek and Baklava. In comparison to puff pastry dough, filo pastry is much thinner and turns out crunchier. You can buy ready-made filo pastry refrigerated or frozen mostly rolled up or as large sheets which you can then cut into the desired shape and size.

In this recipe, I am using a very simple rolling method for which the pastry sheets are cut into rectangles. The spinach-feta filling is simple and quick to prepare and after the pastry is rolled up it only needs a few minutes of frying. Sprinkling the filo rolls with sesame seeds adds a great additional flavour. The filo rolls are served with a yoghurt-mint dip which typically comes with many Middle-Easter dishes.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
For roughly 15 rolls

• filo pastry

• 200 g fresh spinach

• 100 g feta cheese

• 2 red onions/shallots

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

• salt & pepper

• white & black sesame seeds for garnish

For the yoghurt dip:

• 50 g natural yoghurt

• 1/8 cucumber

• 1 tsp dried mint

• pinch of salt

Method:

For the filling:

1. Finely chop 2 onions.

2. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan. Add the onions and fry until translucent.

3. Add 1 tbsp brown sugar and stir for about half a minute to melt the sugar and caramelize the onions.

4. Add 200 g spinach and sauté over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the spinach wilts and most of the liquid has evaporated. Season the spinach with salt and pepper and set the pan aside to cool.

5. When the spinach has cooled slightly, crumble 100 g feta and mix under the spinach.

Preparing the dip:

1. Wash and grate 1/8 cucumber.

2. In a small bowl, combine 50 g natural yoghurt, the grated cucumber, 1 tsp dried mint and a pinch of salt.

Filling the filo pastry:

1. Roll out the filo sheets on a clean surface and cut into about 15-20 cm sized rectangles.

2. Prepare a small bowl of water. Each filo-rectangle will be filled individually. Place about 1 tsp of the spinach filling onto the lower end of the rectangle. Leave a 1 cm space towards the bottom edge as well as both sides.

3. Dip your index finger in water and run over the top and bottom edges to wet them.

4. Tightly roll up the filo sheet. Wet both your index fingers and press down both side ends to seal them up.

Frying the filo rolls:

1. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a pan. Fry the filo rolls for 1-2 minutes from each side over medium-high heat until golden brown.

2. Prepare a plate with a paper towel on which you place the filo rolls to soak up any excess oil.

3. Sprinkle the rolls with white and black sesame seeds and serve with the yoghurt dip. The filo rolls can also be served cold but taste best whilst they are warm.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you have made this recipe and leave your comments below. You can find the reel to this recipe on my Instagram page.