Yiayia Marina has been making her lamb Fillo parcels for as long as we can remember! They are a wonderful way to enjoy Spring lamb and a great way to incorporate plenty of nutritious vegetables into a meal. The wonderful thing about Yiayia’s lamb parcels is that they can be filled with any vegetables, herbs and cheeses you have in the fridge, so feel free to get creative with your favourite combination of vegetable fillings.
Ingredients
Makes 6 parcels
12 sheets Antoniou Fillo Pastry
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 small lamb steaks, deboned and cut into thirds
240 g feta cheese
salt and pepper
Olive oil for brushing
Filling option 1
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 potato, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
Filling option 2
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 bunch English spinach, roughly chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
Recipe tips
Your favour vegetable filling
Get creative with your favourite combination of vegetable fillings – these are Yiayia Marina’s favourites.
Rolling the parcels
Do not roll the parcels too tightly otherwise they will burst during cooking.
Seam side down
Place the parcels on the baking tray seam side down to prevent them from unravelling during baking.
Method
Before you begin this Filo Pastry recipe, take your Filo Pastry out of the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature in its packaging.
Filling preparation
To prepare the lamb, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frypan over medium to high heat. Add the lamb steaks and pan fry until they are slightly caramelised. They don’t need to cook right through as the cooking process will continue in the oven. Set aside to cool. Season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the first filling option
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frypan over medium heat, add the sliced onion and cook until transparent. Remove from the frypan and set aside. Heat another 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the frypan and cook the sliced potato and carrot until they are slightly caramelised. Remove from the frypan and set aside. Season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the second filling option
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frypan over medium heat. Add the onion and English spinach and cook until the onion is transparent and the spinach has wilted. Remove and set aside. Then cook the zucchini slices until tender and set aside. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius and get all your ingredients set up and ready for assembly.
Assembling the parcels
Brush one sheet of Filo Pastry with olive oil, place a second sheet of Fillo on top. Take the short edge of the top sheet and fold it up away from you, a third of the way (this will add an extra barrier for the lamb). Place a lamb steak in the centre of the folded sheet, top with a third of one vegetable filling option and finish with 40g of feta cheese and cracked pepper. Take the bottom sheet and fold it up to cover the lamb and vegetables.
Brush some olive oil on the top third of the Fillo sheet, before folding in both sides of the sheet to enclose the filling. Brush again with olive oil before gently folding the parcel away from you to seal. Brush the top and sides with more olive oil, place on a lined baking tray (seam side down) and pierce with a fork a couple of times to allow any steam to escape during the cooking process.
Continue with remaining ingredients to create 6 parcels.
Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the Fillo Pastry is golden brown.
Watch how to make Yiayia’s Lamb and Vegetable Fillo Parcels