In the 65 years that our family has been producing pastry, we have felt an incredible sense of joy seeing our wonderful community of home cooks create so many delicious things. Generation after generation, as the community grows, we continue to be inspired. It is with great pleasure that we invite some of those wonderful cooks into our family’s test kitchen, to share their recipes.
Kristian’s Za’atar Fillo Bites are made using a crinkled Fillo Pastry base generously lathered with olive oil and sprinkled with za’atar. They’re topped with a spiced lamb mince, creamy labneh (which Kristian loves to make fresh), pomegranate and mint. They’re a great appetiser, with the perfect combination of flavours and textures. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe with us Kristian, you were such a joy to have in our family’s test kitchen!
Ingredients
Makes 36-40 Bites
Fillo Pastry bases
375g Antoniou Fillo Pastry
200ml olive oil
80g (¾ cup) za’atar
Olive oil and za’atar dressing
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon za’atar
½ teaspoon sumac
Spiced lamb
2 tablespoons olive oil
500g lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons harissa spice mix
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup mint, finely chopped
Salt
Cracked pepper
To serve
Labneh (or Greek style yoghurt)
Pomegranate arils
Fresh mint leaves
Method
For this Fillo Pastry recipe, take your chilled Fillo Pastry out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you begin, to bring it up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, fan forced.
To make the Fillo Pastry bases
Cut the Fillo Pastry stack in half, parallel to the longest side of the pastry, and in then in half again, parallel to the shortest side of the pastry. Place one sheet of Fillo Pastry on your work surface, with the longest edge of the pastry facing you. Brush with oil and lay a second sheet of Fillo Pastry on top. Brush with oil. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of za’atar evenly across the layer of pastry. Using your fingers, crinkle the pastry in a concertina design. Coil the pastry to form a spiral and transfer it to your muffin tin. Repeat with the remaining Fillo Pastry and za’atar. Brush the tops with a little more oil.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the pastry turns a deep golden colour.
To make the olive oil and za’atar dressing
Place the olive oil, za’atar and sumac in a bowl and mix well to combine. Once the bases have baked, drizzle or brush the tops with a little of the dressing.
To make the spiced lamb
Heat the olive oil in a medium sized frypan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s transparent. Add the lamb mince and stir until seared. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute (if the pan is dry, add some more olive oil). Add the harissa spice mix, cumin and coriander. Cook for two minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Stir through the parsley and mint.
To serve
Top each bite with some of the spiced lamb, followed by the labneh, pomeganate arils and mint leaves.
Learn how to make Kristian’s Za’atar Fillo Bites with Spiced Lamb and Labneh