Monday, March 4, 2013

Roast Pumpkin and Feta Filo Triangles
(Kolokithopita)


Just one little thing before today's recipe: Only two weeks to go before Tony takes on the Meat Free Week challenge. He will go without meat (and I will go without carbs) to raise money for animal protection organisation, Voiceless.

You can sponsor Tony for the Meat Free Week challenge by clicking here. He only has a target of $100 to meet and he's almost there! And of course he would be thrilled to exceed that target.

To make the week even more challenging for us, we will be preparing vegetarian, no-carb, Greek meals, AND I will be blogging about each and every one of them. We are slowly putting our menu together and have come up with three dishes so far: Vegetarian Moussaka with Tofu and Ricotta, Greek Roasted Vegetable Soy Flour Pizza and Feta Stuffed Peppers with Tofu Greek Salad.

We are so excited about this. Not only is it for a great cause – if enough people get on board it will make a huge impact on animal welfare, the environment and human health – but it just might kick-start an interesting new partnership for Tony and I in the kitchen!


It's no coincidence that my previous post for Roast Pumpkin and Feta Croquettes has almost the same title as today's post.

One gigantic butternut pumpkin from my organic veggie box delivery was enough to produce both of these deliciously addictive mezes (Greek for "tasty things to munch on"). The recipes for both are almost identical, up until you reach the sliding door where you either go croquette-way or filo-triangle-way.

The mixture that is prepared for these filo triangles is the same mixture used for the croquettes, with one ingredient removed (breadcrumbs), and another added (ground cumin).

The great thing about this is that you can double the quantity and make two different types of meze from the one mixture.

Both the croquettes and filo triangles freeze pretty well. Just defrost and lay on a baking tray and heat at 180 degrees celsius for 7 or 8 minutes to bring back that tasty crispiness!


Roast Pumpkin and Feta Filo Triangles (Kolokithopita)


Makes about 20

Ingredients

  • 800g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cubed to 3cm
  • 1 potato, peeled and cubed to 3cm
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely shredded
  • 100g feta cheese, roughly crumbled
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 egg, lightly beaten
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Roast the pumpkin cubes for 30 minutes and mash.
  2. Meanwhile, boil the potato cubes until tender. Mash.
  3. Fry onions until golden.
  4. Place potato and pumpkin mash and onions in a large bowl and mix well.
  5. Add feta, mint and cumin and roughly mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Add egg and mix again.
  7. Lay 7 sheets of filo pastry on a workbench and slice lengthways into thirds (around 10cm thick).
  8. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and make a rounded triangle shape at one end of a filo strip, a few centimetres from the edge (see Picture 1).
  9. Take the bottom corner of the filo pastry and fold over the mixture to form a triangle shape. Brush pastry with olive oil (see Picture 2).
  10. Continue to roll the triangle shape along the length of the filo strip to encase the filling, brushing between each fold.
  11. Arrange filo triangles seam side down on a lightly greased baking tray and bake at 180 degrees celsius for 30 minutes or until golden.

Picture 1: Place a tablespoon of mixture at one end of the filo pastry strip.


Picture 2: Fold the pastry over the mixture and brush with oil.



I'm linking this post with Veggie Mama's Meatless Mondays. Go take a look for some more fantastic vegetarian recipe ideas.



19 comments:

  1. Ooh I have a whole pumpkin to use as well so this might be a great alternative to roasting it like I usually do!
    They look delicious as always!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Lizzie! Even though the pumpkin is still roasted for this recipe, the feta, mint and cumin combo give these a very different flavour.

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  2. My mum used to make these! I haven't made them myself in years, I forgot how they were done. Thanks for sharing the recipe Lisa. Love your blog.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jenny! Oh wow, I wish my mum made these things when we were kids! If you try this recipe I hope they turn out just like you remember. Thanks for dropping by :)

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  3. These look great. I am saving to Evernote and will try for sure. Very glad to meet you via Veggie Mamma.

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    Replies
    1. Likewise Seana! Glad to see you here! Kids love these filo triangles too. They can be messy to eat, crumbling everywhere, but I think that's part of the appeal to kids!

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  4. These look so yummy! I'm looking forward to seeing the meals you and Tony are going to prepare together :)

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    Replies
    1. I think Tony will get through Meat Free Week a lot easier than I will without my beloved carbs! We're looking forward to the challenge though and hopefully have a bit of fun in the kitchen too!

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  5. Those triangles look amazing! What a great choice of filling.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and for the kind words. I'm glad you like my work.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Rosa. Your blog is amazing (people, this woman's blog is amazing) - thanks for taking a moment to come over and say hi!

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  6. Good luck with the challenge! I don't know if I could go without carbs--you are braver than I am. :) I just discovered roasted pumpkin this year and now I can't get enough of it. These would make a lovely fall appetizer!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Kiersten! It's only for a week but I'm hoping it might even help with some bloating issues I've been having lately! (maybe that's because of all the carb OVERLOAD I've been putting myself through in the lead-up to Meat Free/Carb Free Week!)

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  7. oh yum! I miss my grandmothers' kolokithopita and it's been on my to-do list for a while!

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    Replies
    1. It's funny but my mum is of the old school that kolokithopita should only be made with zucchinis. That was before modern Greek language decided to go all streamlined and use the one word for many things, like "kolokithi" which now means zucchini, pumpkin, squash, courgette, marrow, gourd, and probably banana!

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  8. these look beautiful and delicious! i'm excited to hear how tony does on his challenge and it's so awesome you are also going carb-free!

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    Replies
    1. These carby treats are absolutely yum and terribly addictive - unfortunately they won't be featuring on our menu next week!! We do have some very interesting ideas for our meals though. Can't wait!!

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