Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Mushroom and Feta Fillo Triangles


Finally! I finally found some fillo pastry here in London, after more than a month of search in the local supermarkets. On Sunday I was walking down a more distant part of the neighbourhood when I reached a Polski Sklep ( I suppose this would mean supermarket or something) :)
The Polish supermarkets here sell traditionally continental foods and some of them also offer fresh vegetables - I'll say it again - continental vegetables! - as well as some Turkish and Middle Eastern goods and products.
This was a very well supplied store, bursting with choice! It had almost every food a non-English :) might wish to buy vine and cabbage leaves and even some Chinese and Thai ingredients, not including all the pulse, nuts and oriental sweets.
No need to say that I spent more than an hour on the premises, happy to find so much foods that I was looking for unsuccessfully before.
The first thing I noticed was the fillo pastry packs. My attention was first attracted by two elderly men, possibly Greeks or Middle-Easterners, standing near the freezer and pulling out of it packs and packs of fillo pastry. First I thought - they sell fillo! And my second thought was - Oh no! these men will buy it out! They really took about six or seven packs! :) But fortunately there were more ;) In fact there were even two different brands of fillo pastry, a feast! So I took them and then looked around for some Bulgarian cow cheese. I had to admit this store was selling several brands and several varieties of Bulgarian cheese.
I have tried the so called Greek salad cheese, but it's much too hard, compared to the Bulgarian cheese and obviously is not so universal as the Bulgarian cheese - you can use it both in salads and for filling as well.

Now that I had these two main ingredients for fillo triangles, I needed something for the filling - it could be meat, or mushrooms, or spinach, or leaks, or some sweet filling.
I opted for onions and button mushrooms filling with Bulgarian cow cheese.

About the triangles, these were the first triangles I am making ever, but they turned out to be very easy. Once you place the filling and make the first triangle, then it's obvious what to do next and how to ply the fillo.
I should post some step-by-step the next time.

now the recipe:

You need:
8 fillo sheets, cut lenghtwise by four
vegetable oil

for the filling:

1 large onion, cut in large parts,
125 gr button mushrooms - cut,
200 gr Bulgarian cow cheese
thyme, salt, chives, white pepper
vegetable oil

To make the filling mix the mushrooms and onion in hot oil, stir well for several minutes, leave on the heat to simmer for more 10 minutes. Add the thyme, salt, chives and pepper and at the end of feta cheese. Leave for more 5 minutes. Remove from heat and leave aside to cool.

Then take two stripes of fillo, oil the first one and place the second on top of it. Slightly oil the second sheet also. With a table spoon take filling and place it in the angle of pastry which is nearer to you. Start plying a triangle, making sure that the filling will remain within it, then fold logically to make triangles.
Oil the ready triangle.
Proceed the same way until the fillo or the filling is over :)
Bake in 180 degrees until golden.

Serve with yogurt and fresh thyme leaves.

Cheers!

9 comments:

Kajal@aapplemint said...

Hey Alita , these parcels look perfect.I love fillo / phyllo pastry but haven't been able to find some for a while now in Africa. Usually they come from London or some place in Europe i guess this time its been a while since the last import.The combination of mushrooms n cheese is gr8 . And you have made the parcels very neatly and fried them to the perfect golden colour. It must've been a gr8 meal.

Sneige said...

Hi Kate! I'm so glad that you like them, in fact I haven't fried tham but bake them.
You should look for Greek fillo pastry, I don't konow about Africa, I have never been there, but in the UK they are sold mainly in Polish, Middle Eastern shops. They are traditionally Greek so may be they are sold in such shops.
I have to admit that they were very fine - really easy to manipulate with and at the end very crunchy!
You have to brush with oil between two sheets and then to roll them as one.
Brush oil over the fillo sheet in order to make it golden baked. When you make the triangles - brush with oil again.
I wish you luck finding.
I have some in the freezer now, because I bougt more last tmie :D I wish I could transfer via the Internet :)
Chers!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

aw how sweet of you alita . Sometime i even prefer these over puff pastry as its so much lighter _ the butter u see. I was looking to make a Greek spinach pie , hence the look out. They also gr8 for making baklava ( Lebanese sweets ). I can go on and on about the wondeful uses of this pastry ... but i guess u already know.
I've fwded ur blog to a couple of friends as i really liked it. Hope they drop by too .

Sneige said...

Thanks! :)
I know baklava :) of course we have been traditionally cooking it on Christmas and New Year for the past years.
Bulgarian cuisine is close to the Mediterranean in some ways, although I think the Lebanese baklava should be different.

Fillo is really great for multiple use and so crunchy :D
Will pop later to your blog to see how you managed it when you find some :)

Cheers!

food makes me happy said...

I can already imagine biting the crunchness of the skin while the soft cheese flowing out!

MPG said...

Wow! these look beautiful & yummy! I need to work more with fillo :)

Sneige said...

Hi Cindy,
you were right about the crunchness of the skin, but this cheese is not of this kind that goes out melted, it gives a flavour to the fillin, but does not melt ...
:)
Cheers :)

Sneige said...

Thank you, Mango Power Girl! :)

Patricia Scarpin said...

I love these triangles made with phyllo and stuffed with delicious things, Alita!
Your blog is so beautiful, I'm glad I've found you!

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