Monday, February 1, 2010

Spiced Lamb, Sultanas And Pine Nuts In Filo Pastry



I went to a Turkish food specialist with my dear friend A over the weekend to pick up some whey for a an eggplant dip she was planning to make. No whey to be found but I ended up buying a packet of filo pastry without knowing what I was going to do with that. It was after all a 37 degress C day so I thought I should at least get something to justify the bike ride. I must confess I have never used filo pastry before but everyone seemed to be very happy with the end result. I found out later that one of the tummies has had a similar dish with rabbit just a few nights before in a restaurant,  the verdict is my dish is almost as good as the rabbit version ;)


serves 4 generously
for the spiced lamb filling;
1kg of minced lamb
2 onions, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs of cumin powder
2 tbs of coriander powder
1 tbs of cinnamon powder
1 to 2 tbs of hot paprika powder
1 tsp of turmeric powder
3 tbs of yoghurt
salt and pepper to taste
chopped coriander leaves
5 tbs of sultanas
5 tbs of pinenut, toasted

for the yoghurt sauce;
3/4 of a cup of Greek yoghurt
a handful of mint leaves, finely shredded
1/2 tbs of cumin powder
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tbs of grated lemon rind
salt and pepper to taste

you'll also need;
12 sheets of filo pastry
100g of butter, melted
4 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and grilled
finely diced chilies for garnish

Saute onion and garlic til lightly brown then add in the minced lamb and continue to cook til lamb is no longer pink. Add spices and tomato puree and cook for 5 minutes.

Add yoghurt and fry for a further 5 minutes or until the mixture is slightly dry. Sultanas, chopped parsley and toasted pinenuts are added and fry for a further 5 minutes. Check for seasonings.

Use 3 sheets of filo pastry for each roll, brushing each sheet with melted butter. Place 1/4 of the cooled mince mixture and roll it up neatly.

Place the rolls in an oiled baking tray, brush some butter over each roll and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degress C for 20 minutes. Meanwhile heat up the bbq and grill sliced zucchini for a minute on each side. season to taste.

Place some grilled zucchini on a plate, slice each roll into thirds and arrange neatly on top of the zucchini. Finally drizzle some yoghurt sauce over and garnish with diced chilies and parsley leaves.

A Tabbouleh salad would pair very nicely with this dish.

40 comments:

  1. I had something similar when the ant and I went yum cha last Sunday, see my Eng food blog la darling!

    Our minds are linked? Or great minds think alike? hahahaha

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  2. Oh wow, these look incredible delicious! yumm..yumm..yumm... Btw, I have an award for you. Please feel free to stop by and collect the button. Have a wonderful day!

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  3. My, my, they look great! Mouth watering now, slurp, slurp!

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  4. Harriet from CarltonFebruary 1, 2010 at 8:39 PM

    Wow that looks like a restaurant dish :) I can imagine how all the flavours are working so well together!

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  5. OMG! I am going to try this and I have never used filo pastry before as well, great work!

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  6. I have to try this. Great for snack or even for dinner. A good item for Chinese New Year party.

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  7. I like the rolls , I didn't know that.Good idea.! Looks devine!
    I'm going to try this out!
    Betty xx

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  8. Can't believe you have never used filo before this, looks really tasty!

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  9. Absolutely gorgeous! These will be a perfect appetizer for a proper dinner party.

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  10. kenny,
    Haha I know, I already saw the post :)
    Just great minds :)

    My Little Space ,
    Oh thank you for that, will do that :)

    Cheah,
    Thank you hehe!

    Priya,
    Thank you :)

    lovetoeat,
    Oh hardly looks like a restaurant dish! But the flavour is great though :)

    Mary,
    Thanks it will be a great snack your are right!

    Betty,
    Thank you very much, hope you'll try it :)
    xxx

    CW,
    Haha now I realised how easy it is I'll use it more often :)

    Angie,
    Thank you! Yeah half of that should be enough as appetizer :)

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  11. riding there was like riding through a concrete oven/desert. no koshte - who could have thought. this looks great! i had the sour cherry juice and sparkling mineral water and pretended it was a cocktail.. xxxxx

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  12. wow they look incredibly delicious!!!! I love lamb..il never pass lamb .OMG

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  13. Beautiful dish, absolutely love the use of pinenuts and sultanas in the filling! Bravo!

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  14. WOW! This is very flavourful and yummy ;)

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  15. Oh wow!!! Terrific...Looks so delicious.

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  16. VERY VERY VERY NICE!!!
    i dont think i can make it even i follow every steps u posted. awwwwww.....

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  17. Wow...would love to have it now..Very tempting !

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  18. you guys make everything look so yummmy!!! im not a big fan of lamb but still looks tempting! and i love pastry :D

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  19. j'en croquerai volontiers, ils ont l'air très croustillants et tellement savoureux
    bonne soirée

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  20. This sounds like a great surprise dish for my husband one night. Thanks Kathy

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  21. Wow ! I can see this being our new weekend special! Yum!

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  22. OOh this looks good.... I shall try this when I have the time =)

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  23. You made it look quite easy using the filo, I must try it soon!

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  24. Darling A,
    It was like that haha but at least we tried. :) xxx

    Thank you everyone for your comments, I appreciate that :)

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  25. Wow this dish looks awsome! If only I'm able to come up with something like this!

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  26. Well done, they look fantastic. Love the sound of the lamb filling, and such a great idea to serve with grilled zucchini.

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  27. Oh wow - these look absolutely gorgeous! And the combo of lamb and sultanas and pinenuts is so classic - definitely one for the to-make list!

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  28. Never had these before but I like roast lamb and this dish of yours looks fabulous

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  29. Your recipes look so delicious. I can't wait cooking it. Thanks for this delighted blog.

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  30. Turkish shops are the best for filo....and this looks lovely. I'm a sucker for meat in pastry wraps!

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  31. The filling sounds amazing and the crispy pastry..yum yum!

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  32. Yummie, this lamb with sultana in filo dough looks so yummie, and love the yogurt sauce...nice nice pictures :-)

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  33. Thanks for another great recipe! I'm very determine to use filo for the first time too :)

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  34. Love all the flavours and the presentations!

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  35. LMH,
    Thanks! Just trying to be creative from time to time.

    shaz,
    Thank you! ;)

    Su lin,
    Thank you and make sure you try it :)

    Pearlyn,
    Thanks! I think you'll like this!

    rêves de tables ,
    Thanks for visiting and the compliments!

    Kitchen Butterfly ,
    I was just wandering aimlessly in there but thought filo is pretty Turkish haha. You should try making it one day.

    pigpigscorner,
    thanks :)

    Juliana,
    Thank you very much!

    Michele,
    Thank you and make sure you do :)

    Yasmin,
    Thank you very much! :)

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  36. omg ! the filo is swimming in oil/butter .

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  37. June,
    Unfortunately they do need to be well oiled

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  38. You don't give amount of tomato puree needed, so Im guessing by the pic it looks about 2 tablespoons?

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