Midweek meal made easy, made delicious.
Sausage, tomatoes & feta filo pie.
SERVES: 4 – 6
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOKING TIME: 20 – 25 mins
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: midweek meal, crowd-pleaser, family
BUDGET: £
It’s a busy old week.
We’re making further steps to save the planet i.e. installing an air source heat pump.
That’s turning the kitchen, laundry and outside area into a dusty work zone.
We have a friend’s wedding to attend which is exciting.
But I need to clean the Landy as we’re driving some of the wedding party to the venue.
(… but how clean can you really get a 20 yr old Landrover??)
Do the usual school runs in the morning and evening.
(Apparently) get a surf in each day… ‘the waves are good dude’
Squeeze in a few HiiT sessions… a lot of squats and burpees!
(btw, this torture is only done purely through the guilt of eating and drinking too much recently).
Organise a handover of keys in London.
Get the house ready for the Grandparents arrival next week.
Look after 4 Swiss teenagers crashing for a night as we become a stopover for our Swiss nephew.
Call family Downunder stuck in lockdowns.
Feed and walk the dog each day.
Do the day job.
Feed the family.
… and I know there is stuff missing.
So, what that means for meals.
I need something super, super easy.
And quick.
Sausage, tomatoes & feta filo pie
But my family expect nice tasty meals these days.
Since my cooking has improved from doing this blog.
And that’s a nice thing.
But sometimes, I just want to open a can of beans, pour it on top of some toast.
And serve it up.
Having said that, this recipe is almost as easy as doing just that.
Quality produce
As is always my mantra.
It’s the quality of your produce that will ensure a tasty meal.
Not quantity.
So, in this recipe, it’s as simple as finding;
- lovely sweet cherry tomatoes,
- good quality saussies (I like Italian sausages with fennel or chilli in them)
- quality feta
- and as for the filo… I always have store bought in the freezer for just these days.
Clarkson’s Farm
Now, I don’t normally go on about Jeremy Clarkson.
He’s usually a loud, annoying man.
But we were recently convinced to watch his series about him on his farm.
Which gives an (entertaining) insight into UK farming and producing quality produce.
And I have to say we really enjoyed it.
We even think we saw a side to Clarkson that was rather nice.
So, unless you want to sit through an episode of Country File.
Which I would struggle with.
This was a clever, entertaining way, to show us how difficult farming is.
It shows how much work and money goes into producing our meat, veggies and grains.
Of course, Clarkson isn’t going to throw in his well-paid TV career for a new farming career.
He clearly showed us why, when at the end of the years filming on the farm he totted up the revenue made.
And after costs, his farm made £144 net annual profit (no, I didn’t leave off any zero’s).
They made a gross of £140k, which was down £90k from the previous year due to weather and covid.
But of that, only £140 net profit – insane!
And Clarkson, admitted, that it’s only due to his career.
That he’s able to own a farm and have it run for him but that he can’t imagine being a farmer these days.
To the point!…
So, my point is… support your local farmers.
- Buy quality produce.
- Don’t buy cheap.
If it’s cheap, it’s because the animals aren’t looked after.
Or it’s an industrialised operation.
We need to support farmers who care and look after our animals and our land.
And even, if you don’t like Clarkson… you might still find this an interesting peek into UK farming.
Plus, there are some brilliant characters in this series as well.
Simple quality ingredients for simple, tasty filo pies
So, buy quality and you’ll always be rewarded with tasty dishes.
That don’t need to be over-complicated with ingredients.
So, after this recipe, you want some other tasty filo pastry ideas.
Then check out the chicken and ham filo topped pie.
Or these incredible crispy Lebanese lamb filo fingers.
Sausage, feta, tomato, filo pie
Ingredients
- 6 Italian sausages skinned removed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 garlic coved, minced or thinly chopped
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 250 g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped basil
- 500 g tomato passata
- 6 sheets of filo pastry
- 200 g feta, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan. Grease a roasting tin (approx. 21cm x 25cm, 4cm deep), and line with baking parchment.
- In a frying pan on medium heat, add a little oil and the sausage meat. Using a wooden spoon break the meat up and cook until brown, then remove from the heat.
- Now, add the onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 mins, until soft, then add the fennel seeds, cherry tomatoes, basil and passata and mix. Cook for another few minutes, then set aside.
- Lay a sheet of filo pastry on the work surface and brush with olive oil. Repeat until you have 3 sheets on top of each other and transfer to the lined roasting tin. Now, spoon the sausage mixture into the tin, on top of the filo sheets. Sprinkle the feta over the filling and fold the edges of the filo onto the filling.Brush 3 more sheets of filo with oil, fold them in half (with oiled side on top) and place on top of the sausage mixture, to form a lid.Pop into the oven for 20-25 mins or until golden brown on top,
Notes
