These are so simple to make and you can stash them in the freezer and cook from frozen so great for a snack or starter with drinks.
Wine Suggestion: We’ve tried these with a few different wines and prefer them if the wine is chilled. Quite a few whites worked really well, but interestingly the best combination was a chilled red made from Grignolino from the Piedmont in norther Italy. Light bodied and yet dry with hints of (in balance) pippy bitterness and structured, light tannins. From a bottle a friend brought over and made by Olim Bauda; a nice discovery.
Beetroot & feta samosas – makes 18-24 samosas
- 400g fresh beetroot
- 200g feta cheese, cut into 1cm cubes
- 4 scallions, finely chopped
- 30g coriander, finely chopped
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp toasted cumin seeds, crushed
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 x 270g packs of filo pastry
- 100g unsalted butter, melted
- onion seeds (nigella seeds), to garnish
Boil the beetroot until tender when pierced with a sharp knife, this can take an hour or more depending on what size they are.
Trim the beetroot and peel off the skin (you might like to wear gloves), then roughly mash.
Put the mashed beetroot into a hot frying pan over a medium heat and heat for 5 minutes to remove excess moisture, then transfer to a bowl.
Stir in the feta, scallions, coriander, green chilli, garlic, chilli powder, cumin, garam masala and salt.
Lay a sheet of the filo pastry out with the long side towards you (cover the rest of the filo with a damp tea towel). Brush the left hand side of the pastry sheet lightly with the melted butter. Fold the right hand side of the sheet over the left so you have a double layer of pastry. Cut the pastry into 3 long strips with a sharp knife.
Place a heaped tbsp of the beetroot mixture at the bottom of a pastry strip, then fold the bottom right hand corner up over the filling to make a small triangle. Flip the triangle over as you move up the pastry strip, the filling will eventually be sealed inside. When you get to the end, brush the end of the pastry strip with a little melted butter and press to seal.
Continue like this until all of the beetroot mixture has been used, you might not need all of the filo pastry.
If you want to freeze the samosas at this stage you can set them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, then place in tray in the freezer. When the samosas are frozen you can transfer them to a bag.
If you want to cook the freshly made samosas, preheat the oven to 200ºC/400°F/gas 6. Brush the samosas on both sides with melted butter and sprinkle a few onion seeds over the top. Put onto a lightly greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
To cook from frozen. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400°F/gas 6. Brush both sides with melted butter, sprinkle a few onion seeds over the top, and put onto a lightly greased baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crisp and golden.
(Original recipe from Made in India by Meera Sodha, Fig Tree, 2014.)
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