Still trying to lose those extra pounds from Christmas? I find that cutting back on alcohol and eating vegetarian meals once or twice a week can help. Now you dont have to be a vegetarian to enjoy a meatless dish, just open-minded. Of course the key to success is how you cook, rather than what you cook. The two important keys to this dish are cut the vegetables into a chunky size and brown them before roasting them in the oven.
If you cut the vegetables too small and pile them into a small roasting dish you will end up steaming them instead.
6 sheets phylo pastry
175g (7oz) fresh mozzarella cheese
6 pecan halves *optional
50g (2oz) grated Parmesan
250g (10oz) vine ripe tomatoes
25g (1oz) butter or margarine
100g (4oz) yellow pepper
100g (4oz) red pepper
100g (4oz) flat mushrooms
100g (4oz) Aubergine
150g (6oz) courgette
1 small red onion big dice
1 small head garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
8-10 basil leaves sliced
125ml (1/4 pint) balsamic vinegar
Washed salad leaves
1. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, rub with a little olive oil, season and cook in the oven on a low heat 120 C gas mark 1 (put fan on if your oven has one). Cook them in the bottom of the oven on a shallow tray so they dry out as well as cook for about 2 hours.
2. Trim off the very top of the garlic, rub with olive oil and add to the tomato tray.
3. Mix the mozzarella, Parmesan in a food processor and season with salt and pepper.
4. Divide the cheese mix into 6 equal amounts push a pecan into the centre of each one and refrigerate.
5. Fold one sheet of phylo in half lengthwise into a rectangle and brush the edges lightly with water.
6. Place one ball of the cheese at one end of the phylo rectangle and fold over to create a triangle, which about 5 inches (125mm) long. Where the triangle joins the filo sheet fold the triangle again, and finally a third time.
7. Trim off the excess phylo pastry and make sure the triangles are well sealed to prevent the cheese coming out during the cooking.
8. Repeat the process until you have 6 triangles then brush them with melted butter and place them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
9. Reduce the balsamic vinegar in a nonstick saucepan until it is syrupy, cover and allow to cool.
10.In a large nonstick frying-pan cook the peppers, aubergine, courgette, mushroom and red onion separately in a little olive oil allowing each to get some colour on it then transfer to a roasting pan.
11. Roast the vegetables in the top of the oven just until they are tender but not mushy.
12. Remove all the roasted vegetables, keep them warm and add the basil and season the vegetables.
13. Turn up the oven to 190 gas mark 5 and bake the phylo parcels until they golden brown.
To Serve
Make a little mound of salad leaves on one side of each dinner plate, and then top with two cheese parcels. Then carefully place a mound of the roasted vegetables at the front and finally drizzle a little of the reduced balsamic vinegar around the plate.
Chefs Tips
Remember that phylo pastry dries out fast so try to work quickly, away from the heat if possible
and wrap the sheets your not using with parchment paper and a damp tea towel.
Hi Kevin! Thanks for your comment to me. I think you have a very nice blog and this dish I'll try to make for the weekend. I love to make meals and to bake so new meals to do is always "funny"
Although, I don't have to loose some extra pounds, I'm to thin my doctor says, I think this is a very nice dish that everyone can like. I'll write to you when I have done it. Wish me luck
Bye for now-Ingrid