Pie Night leftovers, what to do? I exaggerate, the only leftovers were six lonely sheets of filo pastry. So I attempted to get a bit “creative” in the kitchen yesterday with the filo, defrosted beef mince and the contents of my fridge. The outcome Moroccan Cigars or more boringly Moroccan Mince rolled in pastry. I’ve tried to remember the “recipe” – below is my best attempt. They’re relatively easy to make, the only fiddly bit is rolling them up.
- ~300g extra lean beef mince
- 1 brown onion
- 425g Watties Moroccan tinned tomatoes
- 2tsp moroccan spice mix (mine contains ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika – that I can remember)
- 1/4 block of feta (mine was homemade and unflavoured)
- 2tsp onion marmalade
- 6 sheets filo pastry
- vegetable oil
- salt
- pepper
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
- Saute the onion in a bit of oil until soft
- Add the mince and spices to the onions and brown for 2min
- Add the tomatoes and onion marmalade to the mince mixture and cook down to reduce the moisture and thicken (this took me about 15min of simmering)
- Remove the mince from the heat and allow to cool slightly while preparing the filo
- Brush one sheet of filo with oil, then lay another piece of filo on it. Repeat this with the other sheets so you end up with 3 double filo sheets
- Now the mince is cooled slightly crumble the feta into the mince and mix
- Spoon a third of the mince mixture along the short edge of the filo pastry and roll up (make sure you tuck the ends in to avoid mince explosions) – brush with oil to help the pastry stick
- Lay the cigars (filo rolls) on a baking tray with baking paper and pop into the oven
- Cook for about 25min – or until the pastry is golden and crispy.
I’d serve this with a rocket salad dressed with lemon juice and some minted yoghurt – or anything that takes your fancy.
