In my last post, I shared how I’ve managed to ditch the menu planning and grocery shopping and still put amazing food on the table for my family. Our favourite meal so far using this new system has been these Moroccan Lamb filo parcels.
If you missed it, here was my son’s reaction:
“Mummy! This tastes too good to be homemade!”
LOL. Uh, thanks, son. I think.
He took a few more bites, then gushed, “This is my number one favourite meal! As well as McDonalds, pizza and spaghetti bolognaise!”
Even better, these flaky golden parcels of goodness were super simple and easy to throw together.
My top tip for using filo pastry
I always had the idea the filo pastry was fiddly to use, so in the interests of not spending my life in the kitchen, I’ve avoided it like the plague. I didn’t want to muck around with a so-called “fragile” pastry that tears and cracks and dries out.
Well, it’s like hearing nasty gossip about someone and then meeting that person and they’re actually incredibly nice and you wish you never listened to all the ignorant rumours.
Public service announcement: filo pastry is EASY to use. Seriously. You just need to remember this one tip:
Bring it to room temperature before you use it.
Pull it out of the fridge about 15-30 mins before you start, and you will have no problem at all with tearing or cracking. Some people say you need to keep it covered with a damp tea towel as you work with the pastry, but seriously, don’t even bother. As long as your pastry is room temp, there is no need. It’s actually fantastically easy.
Here’s what you need.
And here’s the recipe. Just click the “Print” icon in the top right corner to print out your own copy.
Ingredients
- 10 sheets Filo pastry
- 1/2 brown onion
- 1/2 bag baby spinach leaves
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 tbs pine nuts
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 400g lamb mince (15 oz ground lamb)
- 2 tsp Moroccan spice blend
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Tomato chutney to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉). Remove the filo pastry from the fridge so it comes to room temperature.
- Finely chop the brown onion. Roughly chop the baby spinach leaves. Melt the butter.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pine nuts and toast for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Add 1 tbs olive oil and cook the onion and lamb until onion is softened and lamb is browned. Add the Moroccan spice blend and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add 1/2 the baby spinach leaves and stir to wilt slightly. Remove from the heat.
- Lay out 2 sheets of the filo pastry. Place 1/5 of the lamb mixture in the bottom left hand corner of the pastry (Leaving a 3 finger wide gap from both edges), fold in the left side and the bottom, then continue to roll up into a parcel. Repeat with the remaining filo pastry and lamb mixture. Brush each parcel with melted butter and place on a lined baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden.
- Meanwhile, cut the cucumber and tomato into small chunks. Add to a large bowl along with the remaining baby spinach leaves. Add the balsamic vinegar and 1 tbs olive oil and toss to combine.
- Serve the Moroccan lamb filo parcels with salad and tomato chutney on the side.
I really hope you enjoy trying out these Moroccan Lamb filo parcels! Let me know what you think!
P.S. Want to know how I ditched the menu planning and grocery shopping, but now we’re eating better than we ever have before? Find out our secret here!
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