Filled with spices, currants and two cheeses, these vegetarian parcels should appeal to the whole family. (If golden skinned kumara aren’t available, use the purple skinned variety as I find Beauregard kumara are too wet for the filling.)
Serves: 4–6
INGREDIENTS
600 grams kumara, peeled and chopped, (I used gold kumara)
½ cup cottage cheese
¼ cup currants
2 spring onions, finely sliced
¼ teaspoon each ground allspice and cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
finely grated zest 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 x 400 gram tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100 grams feta cheese, crumbled
To assemble
8 sheets filo pastry
melted butter or olive oil spray
sesame and poppy seeds
tomato relish to serve
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
Cook the kumara in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and tip back into the saucepan. Put back over a low heat to drive off excess moisture and mash until smooth. Tip into a large bowl and cool for 15 minutes.
Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the chickpeas and feta and season well. Add the chickpeas and feta and stir through.
To assemble: Place one sheet of filo on the bench with the long side facing you. Brush half the sheet with butter and fold over like a book.
Put 1/8 of the mixture 4 cm up from the bottom. Brush the border with butter then fold the edges in and fold up into a parcel. Place on a lined baking tray, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Brush the parcels with butter and sprinkle with the seeds.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden, turning the tray for even browning if necessary. Serve with tomato relish and a salad.
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