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The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
Layer up: spring fillings for filo pies
Filo pies are my go-to for entertaining, but what are the best spring fillings? The wonderful thing about filo pies and tarts is that they look fancy even when they're knocked up from just a handful of ingredients, they require little more than a green salad to please and, much like the rest of us, they really do benefit from some downtime. 'They're even better at room temperature because the flavour evolves,' says Rosie Kellett, author of In for Dinner, which also makes them perfect for dodging any last-minute entertaining scrambles. Kellett likes to wrap as many spring greens as possible in filo, along with cheese and hot honey butter. 'The key to getting a really delicious filo tart or pie is a flavoured butter,' she says, so, rather than simply painting melted butter between every filo sheet so it goes nice and crisp in the oven, she also adds honey and harissa. (In a similar vein, if your pie or tart involves mushrooms, take your lead from Feast columnist Georgina Hayden, who uses butter flavoured with thyme and Marmite.) But back to Kellett's pie. 'Wilt the greens, squeeze out any moisture, then fold in crumbled feta, a couple of eggs and season really well.' You could also throw in some caramelised onions. 'Put a couple of layers of filo painted with hot honey butter in an ovenproof dish [greased with more honey butter], add a third of the filling, then repeat with more filo and filling.' Finish with more filo, then sprinkle over a crisp, seedy topper (think everything bagel mix, or a mix of nigella, sesame and fennel seeds). 'Bake until golden brown, crisp and bubbling up at the edges,' Kellett says, and that's going to be a lot easier in the making and eating than a quiche: 'For a picnic lunch, a filo pie is easily top of the list.' And, for something alongside, try tabbouleh studded with lots of fresh dill, parsley and coriander or, once summer proper hits, a tomato, pickled shallot and herb salad. If you have plenty of herbs to hand, meanwhile, plump for this goat's cheese, artichoke and hazelnut number by the Guardian's Rukmini Iyer – one of her 'favourite recipes for the column so far'. Blitz 30g flat-leaf parsley (stems and all), 20g mint, 20g basil, 15g chives and 50g chopped hazelnuts until smooth, then pour into a round pie dish lined with filo sheets that you've brushed with the oil from a jar of artichokes. Top with the artichokes themselves and teaspoonfuls of soft goat's cheese dotted around and about, then scatter with more chopped hazelnuts and bake at 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 for 25 minutes. For other cheesy greens, give peas a go: 'Minted garden peas with grated lemon zest, whipped or baked ricotta, lots of herbs and spring onions is a really nice spring combo,' Kellett says, especially if you char the spring onions over an open flame first. 'They'll be silky, soft and sweet, and you can squidge them into the tart.' Chantelle Nicholson, who is behind Baked by Cordia, a microbakery and garden cafe in West Sussex, would also go for peas, paired with ricotta and mint, but she'd crush them, alongside some broad beans, too, 'for texture' and throw in some onion seeds. Finally, there's asparagus, and here Nicholson would be minded to combine the spears with parsley or dill in a bechamel base, and perhaps some caramelised onions, too, because, well, 'You can't ever really go wrong with those'. Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@
The Guardian
06-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘Hands down my favourite bit of kit': 13 kitchen gadgets top chefs can't live without
We all have that gadget we reach for in the kitchen; the everyday item that changes the way we cook, making chopping, zesting citrus fruit, flipping fish and grinding spices that little bit easier (plus, saving fingertips). A kitchen gamechanger doesn't have to be fancy, though – Feast's Georgina Hayden finds a tomato knife picked up on holiday indispensable. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. So which gadgets and tools will make your kitchen life complete (and perhaps more enjoyable)? We asked some of the UK's top chefs about the things they couldn't live without. Ikea Koncis garlic press £4 at Ikea 'I could never live without my Ikea garlic press. I love garlic but absolutely hate the lingering smell of it on my fingers. Without the press, I wouldn't use garlic as much, which would be very sad, or I'd have very stinky fingers all the time.' Braun MultiQuick 1 hand blender £24.99 at John Lewis£24.99 at Currys 'Stick blenders get my vote – Braun ones are efficient and durable. They're perfect for blending small amounts quickly and are incredibly convenient to clean – just click off and rinse. Plus, you can puree soups right in the pot while they're still hot. And when it comes to homemade mayo, there's nothing more useful: just pop an egg, some rice wine vinegar (or lemon) and salt into a jug, top with neutral oil, and blend until thick and creamy.' Lakeland stainless steel slotted fish slice £4.99 at Lakeland£4.99 at Amazon 'A stainless-steel fish slice, which is a flexible, metal spatula with holes. It's the one thing I always have because you can use it to flip, whisk and strain things. When I was working on the fish section at the Oxo Tower it was my right hand, and I would do everything with it.' HexClad HexMill salt and pepper grinder set £199 at HexCladSalt grinder £129 at AmazonPepper grinder £129 at Amazon 'HexClad's salt and pepper grinders are the best thing I've ever come across; they're proper pricey but they're mega.' Microplane fine grater £29.99 at John Lewis£29.99 at Lakeland 'I always grate garlic and ginger with my Microplane – ginger first so the garlic can help push through any recalcitrant bits of ginger – and use it for lemon and lime zest, parmesan, etc. It's hands down my favourite bit of kit, and mine is just the right level of sharp versus blunt that it won't take off my fingertips. My husband's Microplane is vicious, only to be used if mine is in the dishwasher.' Thermapen £52.80 at ETI£42.80 at Amazon 'A Thermapen digital thermometer: stick it in meat and it will tell you when it's medium-rare. It also tells you the perfect setting point for custard, it stops your scrambled eggs from going rubbery, and you can tell when bread is cooked right the way through. All the core temperatures are available on the internet. If I'm being honest, though, the gadgets I absolutely could never live without are my laptop and phone; you spend so much time checking temperatures and cooking times, it's where I keep my notes, and I use the timer on my phone as well. 'Siri, set a timer,' will change your boiled egg game overnight.' Victorinox serrated edge tomato knife £5.98 at Nisbets£6.90 at Victorinox Sign up to The Filter Get the best shopping advice from the Filter team straight to your inbox. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. after newsletter promotion 'My tomato knife, which a friend gifted to me from Greece. It's a very fine, small, serrated, curved knife; nothing expensive, but it's a gamechanger. Being Greek-Cypriot I eat a lot of tomatoes, and if you cut them with a normal chef's knife, you're going to squish them. It's one of my favourite things in my kitchen.' Magimix Juice Expert 3 in 1 juicer £250 at John Lewis£250 at Fenwick 'A cold pressed juicer. I love it, and not only for putting fresh fruit or anything I've got leftover in it for juice, but for making shots of ginger – which you don't have to peel – for dressings for raw fish.' Stainless steel food mill £27.99 at Lakeland£25 at Dunelm 'It has to be my food mill, which is a sieve with a crank that presses out flavour and retains texture in a way no other tool can.' Sage the Barista Express £629.95 at Currys£630 at Argos 'My Sage bean to cup coffee machine. It adds a significant amount of happiness to my kitchen; there's no good coffee where I live and I really don't like drinking burnt, scalding, poorly made coffee. The ritual of putting it on in the morning always makes me smile – sad, but true.' For more coffee machines, see our expert's review of the best Grey marble pestle and mortar £35 at John Lewis 'I love grinding spices in my mortar and pestle for Thai sauces. I love the movement, I love the look of them, and they're just a really good tool to have. I have a medium-sized one and then a small rough one that someone gave me.' Japanese handheld mandolin slicer £39.99 at Sous Chef£43.99 at Amazon 'I would hate to live without my Japanese mandolin, with all its different sliced attachments. It's such a quick and tidy way of slicing veg and fruit, and just about halves the prep time – just watch those fingers!' Large wooden chopping board £30 at M&S 'I'm not sure you can call it a gadget, but my absolute favourite item in the kitchen is a substantial wooden chopping board. There's something so satisfying about working on a well-made one.'
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Georgina Hayden's recipe for galaktoboureko
Serves 12-16For the syrupcaster sugar 500g honey 150g cloves 4 cinnamon 1 stick lemon 1, peeled into thick stripsrose water 1-2 tbsp (optional) For the custardwhole milk 1½ litres double cream 400ml vanilla paste or extract ½ tbsp fine semolina 260g unsalted butter 200g, cut into cubeslarge eggs 4 filo pastry 300g Start by making the syrup, which needs to be cold when the galaktoboureko comes out of the oven. Place 250g of the caster sugar in a medium pan with the honey and 300ml of water. Add the cloves, stick of cinnamon and the lemon strips. Gently bring the mixture to the boil over a medium heat, then reduce the heat a little and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened. Remove from the heat and leave to one side to cool. Stir in the rose water to taste, if using. For the custard, start by heating the milk with 200ml of the double cream, the remaining 250g of caster sugar and the vanilla paste in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When it is hot, but not boiling, slowly pour in the semolina, whisking constantly, until it is all incorporated. Reduce the heat a little and keep whisking until you have a thickened, smooth custard. Whisk in 75g of the butter, and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes. After this time, whisk in the remaining double cream and the eggs until smooth. When everything is ready, assemble your galaktoboureko. Preheat the oven to 170C fan/gas mark 5 and melt the remaining 125g of butter in a saucepan. Take the filo out of the fridge and drape with a slightly damp tea towel to stop it drying out while you work. Lightly butter a 25cm x 30cm deep roasting tray, then brush each sheet of filo with butter and line the tin. You'll want to use ¾ of the sheets to line the base and sides of the tin, leaving any excess hanging over the edge. Once it is ready, fill with the semolina and smooth it out with a spatula. Fold over any overhanging pastry, then top with the final few sheets, making sure they are well buttered also. Cut the pie into segments, using a serrated knife (you need to do this before baking), place the tray in the hot oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and immediately and evenly pour over the cooled syrup. Set aside to cool completely, and for the custard-filled pastry to soak up the syrup. Georgina Hayden is a cook, food writer and presenter. Her latest book is Greekish (Bloomsbury, £26)
