Beetroot & feta phyllo parcels

Ingredients

3 or 4 whole beetroot

3 or 4 fat garlic cloves, whole, in their husks

4 or 5 oregano sprigs

1 red onion, diced and caramelised

1 round of plain feta, diced small

4 Tbs balsamic reduction

Salt and pepper to taste

1 sheet phyllo pastry per 4 parcels

Olive oil

Cold water

Black sesame seeds

Method

Defrost the phyllo pastry.

Preheat the oven to 200°.

Top and tail the beetroots, peel them and cut them into small pieces.

Oil an oven pan, place the beetroot in with the whole garlic cloves and the oregano. Do not peel the garlic.

Roast for about 20 minutes, then remove the garlic, add sliced red onion, put the pan back in the oven and cook until the beetroot is fairly soft but not mushy. Cool. Peel the garlic and mush it up. Discard oregano. Cut beetroot into smaller dice and add to a small bowl. Stir in the garlic and a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Dice feta and stir in.

Preheat the oven to 200°.

Lay phyllo out on a clean surface. Have a clean, damp cloth to hand, a bowl of olive oil and a basting brush.

Put a half sheet of phyllo (i.e. cut from the top towards yourself) on a clean surface. Place the damp cloth over the rest of the phyllo (keep doing that as you work). Brush olive oil lightly over the pastry sheet you’ve moved. Now place a second layer on top, oil that lightly, then a third, and oil that lightly.

Imagine you’re folding samoosas. Picture a half phyllo sheet as A4 in size, folded in half from top to bottom, and cut the pile of pastry sheets into two strips like those two half A4 sheets. So, you have two long strips of phyllo facing away from you, times three sheets.

Place 1 heaped Tbs of the beetroot-feta mixture near the end of the strip that’s closest to you. Fold the phyllo from lower left to the right to cover the mixture, then keep folding upwards, left and right, until you have a triangular parcel. Tuck any remaining pastry bits over and smooth them down; if they’re dry, oil lightly.

Place each parcel on an oiled oven dish. Using your fingers, sprinkle a little cold water over all the parcels. Sprinkle over some black sesame seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes, keeping an eye on them; you don’t want them either too blond, or too dark. DM168