Vefa gives a recipe for making the pastry dough for these gorgeous pies but I’m a bit lazy ! I use ready made fílo pastry and it works very well too. Although it’s not in Vefa’s recipe, I sometimes put in a little feta, which makes the filing a bit creamier – you just need to be careful of the additional salt you use. The trick with fílo pastry is to work as quickly as you can, as it can dry out fairly quickly. Check my page about working with fìlo for tips and hints.

1 pack ready made fílo pastry (approx. 250gm)

100 ml (approx.) olive oil, for brushing the fílo and assembling the pies

THE FILLING

250 gm fennel bulbs – chopped. If the bulbs have any of the fronds, add these too.

1 leek – trimmed and finely chopped

1 clove of garlic – crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons plain flour

70gm crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the chopped leek and fennel. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.

Season with salt and pepper. If you are adding feta allow the mixture to cool slightly before mixing in the crumbled cheese.

Sprinkle with the flour and mix well.

Cut the filo into long strips approximately 10cm x 30cm. Work on one strip at a time.

Brush the strip of filo with olive oil and then put a spoon full (approx. 15ml) of the mixture into one corner. Then folding over corner to edge, repeat all the way until you have a triangular shaped pie.

Place on an oiled baking tray and then repeat until you have used all the filling and pastry.

Bake at 185 degrees for about 25 minutes or until golden in colour.

Makes approximately 20 pies.