Feta and spinach filo triangles

These make the perfect starter or buffet food, they are so delicious and surprisingly easy to make. I used ready-rolled filo pastry from Sainsbury's and was really worried because I knew working with filo pastry could be quite tricky as it tends to dry out and crack, but I had no problems with this one at all! The textures were really good and spinach and feta go so well together. These will definitely impress at a dinner party so give it a go. I served this with a salad of mixed lettuce leaves, cucumber, tomato, feta and lemon. 

Makes about 10

- olive oil

- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped

- 150g frozen spinach, thawed and drained

- 100g feta cheese, crumbled

- 50g cottage cheese

- 1/2 egg, beaten

- 10 sheets of ready-rolled filo pastry

- 100g slightly salted butter, melted

1. Heat some olive oil in a pan and gently fry the onions until softened. Add the spinach and cook until the water is evaporated.

2. Mix together the egg, cottage cheese and feta cheese in a jug and add to the onion and spinach. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until thickened.

3. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6 / 200 degrees.

4. Place a filo pastry sheet on a clean work surface and brush with melted butter all over.

5. Cut the pastry sheet into 3 equal strips 

 6. Place the sheets on top of one another. Next, place a spoonful of the filling at the end.

 7. Fold into a triangle like below

 8. Then continue to fold into a triangle, until the filling is completely encased.

 9. Butter the end of the leftover pastry and fold over. Brush both sides of the completed filo triangle with butter and place on a baking tray.

10. Repeat until all the mixture has gone then bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until hot in the middle and golden brown.

11. Serve with a greek salad!

Enjoy :)

Brie and cranberry parcels

These make perfect starters and are actually more ideal for Christmas time, but I had all the ingredients in the house so couldn't resist! They're really messy and all oddly shaped (as you can see...) but I love that they're a bit different. The filo pastry I used was the jus rol brand and had actually been opened for quite a while so had dried out a fair bit, making these harder to shape - so if you use the pastry fresh then they will probably look neater and more appealing. 

*I'm not going to put exact quantities because it becomes pretty obvious when making them and it depends how many you want to make for however many people*

Ingredients

- Filo pastry cut into squares

- butter, melted

- brie, sliced

- cranberry sauce/jelly

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 / 190 degrees.

2. To make one parcel, take 3 squares and brush them with melted butter. Layer them on top of one another with the points sticking out at different angles, like a star shape.

3. Place a slice of brie in the middle and a teaspoon of cranberry sauce and lift the pastry corners up to form a parcel, pushing together gently with fingers.

4. Brush the outside with more melted butter and place on a baking tray.

5. Repeat as many times as you desire!

6. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the filling is hot and melting, and the pastry golden brown and crisp.

Enjoy :)