Lentil and mushroom filo triangles
Serve with your favourite chutney and a side of fresh salad
These are fun to make with friends and family as folding the triangles does take some time.
Ingredients (makes 24):
- 1 packet filo pastry (20 sheets)
- Melted butter, to brush pastry
- 1 ½ cups dried brown lentils (or 2 x 400 g can brown lentils
- Olive oil or butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 250 gm mushrooms, finely sliced (approx. 20 button mushrooms)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp good quality dried vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp pine nuts,
- lightly toasted
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh garden herbs (basil, spring onion, parsley, thyme)
- Optional: handful of crumbled feta, ricotta or tofu
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Rinse dried brown lentils and place in a pot of boiling water. Once water returns to the boil reduce heat and simmer until tender for approx. 30-40 minutes. To speed up cooking time, soak lentils overnight.
3. Heat olive oil or butter in a large pan, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes, add mushrooms and cook for a further 4-6 minutes until they begin to brown, add Balsamic vinegar, lentils, vegetable stock and water and stir to combine. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes until lentils have softened. Remove from heat, add chopped fresh herbs and cheese or tofu (if using) and set aside.
To prepare filo
On a clean, hard surface lay out a sheet of filo pastry, brush with melted butter and top with another sheet. Repeat this process until you have 3 sheets in total. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut pastry lengthways into 6 strips. Place a spoonful of filling onto the bottom of one section. Fold pastry over mixture so it is encased in a triangle. Keep folding over the length of pastry. To seal triangle brush leftover end of pastry with a little melted butter and fold. Repeat this process until mixture is used up.
Place triangles on a greased baking tray, and brush with melted butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
Tips for legumes:
- Inspect dried legumes before soaking and remove any debris.
- To prevent 'legume gas' and reduce cooking time, soak legumes for up to eight hours. Discard the water after soaking and boil legumes in a large pot with plenty of fresh water.
- Avoid combining new and old legumes and/or with different varieties. They will cook unevenly.
- Store in airtight containers to avoid pantry moths. They should keep up to a year.
Next: Parsnip, Potato and Green Split Pea Soup (a winter warming soup packed with protein-high legume goodness!)
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Photo credit: Jessica Symonds