Creamy, salty and flaky, spiced baby spinach and ricotta filo parcels are delicious starters. They have more flavour dimensions than traditional spinach and feta pies, with a slightly spicy kick. These will be especially popular with vegetarians.
Spiced baby spinach and ricotta filo parcels
Ingredients
- 1 peeled and diced onion
- 1 peeled and minced garlic clove
- a little olive oil
- 45ml (3 tbsp) garam masala spice blend
- 200g baby spinach leaves
- 125ml (½ cup) fresh cream
- 300g crumbled ricotta
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 sheets of filo pastry
- melted butter
- fresh mint leaves, to garnish
Instructions
Fry onion and garlic clove in a little olive oil over low heat, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garam masala spice blend, stir to combine and turn the heat to high. Add baby spinach leaves, fresh cream and cook, 3 minutes, or until the spinach is just wilted.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir crumbled ricotta through the spinach mixture. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place 3 sheets of filo pastry on a surface and brush with melted butter. Cut each sheet of pastry in half, widthways, to create a rectangle and brush each half (there should be 6 rectangles) with melted butter. Add a generous dollop of the spinach mixture to the centre of each rectangle and fold the pastry to enclose the spinach, scrunching slightly. Brush each parcel with a little more melted butter before placing them on a roasting tray. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 30 – 40 minutes. Serve warm, sprinkled with fresh mint leaves.
