Tomato and Runner Bean Baklava Recipe
serves:
6 - 8Taken from Smashing Plates by Maria Elia (Kyle Books; £19.99)
Ingredients
- 100ml olive oil
- 2 Spanish onions, halved and finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons tomato puree
- 10 vine-ripened plum tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
- 500g runner beans, stringed and cut into 4cm lengths
- a pinch of sugar
- 1 bunch finely chopped fresh dill (about 30g), or
- 2 tablespoons dried
- 9 sheets of filo pastry
- 100g melted butter
- 100g Greek or Medjool dates, stoned and finely sliced
- 250g feta, crumbled
- 6 tablespoons runny honey
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a low heat and sauté the onions until softened and sticky; this can take up to 20 minutes. Add the garlic, cinnamon and tomato purée and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook over a medium heat for about 8 minutes, before adding the runner beans, sugar, dill, a pinch of sea salt and 150ml water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the beans for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft and the sauce is nice and thick. Check the seasoning and cool before assembling
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Unfold the pastry and cover with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush a baking tray (about 30 x 20cm) with melted butter. Line the tin with a sheet of filo (cut to fit if too big), brush with butter and repeat until you have a three-layer thickness
Spread half the tomato and bean mixture over the pastry and top with half each of the dates and feta. Sandwich another three layers of filo together with melted butter and place on top
Top with the remaining tomato mixture, dates and feta. Sandwich the remaining three filo sheets together as before and place on top
Lightly score the top, cutting into diamonds. Brush with the remaining butter and splash with a little water. Cook for 35–45 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool slightly before serving, drizzling each portion with a little honey.
Top Tip for making Tomato and Runner Bean Baklava
For the best results, make the filling the day before to allow the flavours to infuse
