Eggplant, feta and roasted red pepper phyllo spirals
Dimitra's Dishes · ♥ 1.2K likes · 34.4K views · 14 min video
Read about feta in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 3 whole eggplants
Pierce the eggplants all over, or halve them; drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and oil the skin side.
- olive oil
- salt
Roast in a preheated 500 degree oven until soft and tender, up to 30 minutes; check at 20 to 25 minutes.
- 1 whole onion
- 3–4 tbsp olive oil
- salt
Cook the finely chopped onion in three or four tablespoons of olive oil with a pinch of salt over medium heat until soft and golden, eight or ten minutes.
- 6 whole scallions
- fresh parsley
- 1 sprig rosemary
Thinly slice six scallions; finely chop the parsley and the rosemary leaves.
Add the scallions to the onions and cook two or three minutes until softened.
- 2 cloves garlic
Add two grated garlic cloves and warm through a few seconds until fragrant; take off the heat.
- 2–3 whole roasted red peppers
- black pepper
Add two or three roasted red peppers and the chopped herbs, mix, and season with a little black pepper.
When the eggplant is super tender (almost 30 minutes), return it under the broiler about five minutes for more colour.
Testing and finishing the eggplant
- salt
- crushed red pepper flakes
- black pepper
Cut off the hard tips, scrape off the skin, roughly chop, and season the warm eggplant with salt, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper; add to the mixture.
- ½ lb feta cheese
- ½ lb kefalograviera
Crumble in half a pound of feta and add half a pound of kefalograviera; taste for salt.
The cheeses and variations
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 stick salted butter
- 1 sheet country style filo
Add half a cup of breadcrumbs and two beaten eggs and mix; taste before adding the egg.
Melt two sticks of salted butter. Line two trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400F.
Butter and country-style filo
Drizzle butter over one filo sheet, spread about half a cup of filling thinly on the bottom third, roll it up and coil into a spiral; patch any cracks with a strip of filo.
Repeat with each sheet, drizzling butter and concentrating on the top part to help it seal, until the filling runs out.
- olive oil
Brush the spirals generously with the butter and olive oil mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Brushing and sesame seeds
Bake on the center rack in a preheated 400F oven, rotating two trays halfway, until golden all round, up to 45 minutes.
Variation: to make ahead, freeze until firm, wrap the trays in plastic wrap and aluminum foil or bag them, and bake from frozen starting at 350 degrees for about an hour until golden, raising the temperature for the last 15 minutes if desired.