These filo pastry rolls make an excellent starter, or you could serve two rolls each for a light meal. The filling is a colourful mixture of low–fat chicken mince and plenty of vegetables, with a little ham and fresh herbs to add to the flavour. The rolls are served with a piquant cranberry relish.
Ingredients
1 large carrot, about 100 g, cut into very fine matchsticks
1 cup (75 g) finely shredded savoy cabbage
2 spring onions, cut into fine shreds
250 g chicken mince
⅓ cup (50 g) lean ham, finely chopped
½ small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thymesalt and pepper
4 large sheets filo pastry, each about 46 × 28 cm
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (20 g) butter, melted
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Cranberry relish
¼ cup (70 g) cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon English mustard
125 g mixed salad leaves
Preparation
Blanch the carrot, cabbage and spring onions in boiling water for 1 minute.
Drain, then plunge into a bowl of cold water to refresh.
Drain again and pat dry with paper towel.
Put the vegetables in a large mixing bowl with the chicken, ham, onion, breadcrumbs, herbs and seasoning.
Mix together well, then set aside.
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Halve each filo pastry sheet lengthwise and then trim to a strip measuring 36 × 12 cm.
Mix the oil and melted butter together.
Brush one pastry strip lightly with the butter mixture.
Place an eighth of the filling at one end, shaping it into a sausage.
Roll up the filling inside the pastry, folding in the long sides as you go, to make a spring roll–shaped parcel.
Place on a baking tray and brush with a little of the butter and oil mixture.
Repeat to make another 7 parcels.
Score 3 diagonal slashes on top of each parcel.
Sprinkle over the sesame seeds.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden.
Meanwhile, put all the relish ingredients in a screw–top jar, season to taste and shake well.
Arrange the mixed salad leaves on serving plates, place a filo roll on each and drizzle around the relish.
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