Tomato Spinach Spirals Recipes

Steps:

• Heat a large saucepan, tip in the cumin and coriander seeds and toast for a few mins until you can smell their fragrance and they turn a shade darker, then tip into a pestle and mortar. Add the oil to the pan, then tip in the onions and cook slowly until golden and caramelised - this will take 15-20 mins. Meanwhile, bring 2 pans of water to the boil. Add the lentils to 1 pan and cook for 20 mins. Put the rice and a pinch of salt in the other pan and cook for 5 mins (it should still have a little bite). Drain both pans, and leave the lentils and rice to steam-dry.
• Boil the kettle. Stir the garlic into the onions and cook for 1-2 mins over a low heat. Grind the whole spices in the pestle and mortar to a fine powder and add these to the onion mixture. Grate half of the nutmeg and add to the onions with the turmeric and allspice.
• Put the spinach in a colander in the sink, pour over a kettle of boiling water, then rinse under cold water. Use your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Finely chop the spinach and add to the onions with the herbs, lemon zest and juice and the rice, lentils and plenty of seasoning. Leave to cool before stirring through the feta.
• To assemble the pie, you'll need plenty of space on your work surface - about 1 metre. Unwrap the filo and cover with a damp tea towel. Have your bowls of melted butter and beaten egg to hand, as well as a pastry brush for each. Working quickly, lay 4 sheets of filo end to end, running along the length of your work surface, and butter each piece generously, overlapping each sheet by about 10cm. Top with another 4 sheets, butter well, then repeat with 3 final sheets of filo (save the last one to cover any cracks later on.)
• Spoon the rice filling down the centre of the filo, leaving 5cm free on either end. Brush the egg around the edges and tuck the ends in to cover the filling. Starting from one end, roll the filo over the filling, working your way along until you have a long filo sausage. From one end, start to coil the sausage back on itself - if the pastry cracks, patch it over the hole with your reserved piece of filo. When the coil is complete, slide onto a tray lined with baking parchment, brush the top with beaten egg and sprinkle over the sesame seeds. You can now cover it loosely with cling film and chill for up to 24 hrs.
• When you're ready to bake, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Place the pie on the middle shelf and bake for 45 mins until golden and crisp. Meanwhile, tip the ingredients for the tomato sauce into a pan, season and bubble for 30 mins until rich and thick.
• For the salad, halve the cucumber through the centre, then cut in half lengthways and chop into small cubes. Put in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and season well. Set aside until ready to serve.
• Leave the pie to cool for 20 mins before serving with the sauce, salad and a large bowl of yogurt.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Mix the tomatoes, garlic, half the oil, tamarind and sugar together, along with a generous pinch of seasoning. Tip onto a baking tray and put in the oven for 25-30 mins or until sticky and roasted. Leave to cool a little.
• Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the leek and spring onions, stirring occasionally until softened, about 10 mins. Leave to cool completely, then tip into a bowl and mix with the spinach, feta, roasted tomatoes, eggs, coriander, smoked paprika and seasoning.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C/gas 6. Brush a sheet of filo with melted butter, then lay another sheet on top and brush with butter again, keeping the rest of the filo covered with a clean, damp tea towel to stop it drying out, Spoon a third of the filling along the long side of the rectangle and gently roll into a long tube. Repeat this two more times until you have used all the filo and filling. In a round pie dish, or round ovenproof pan, carefully coil the three filo rolls from the outside of the dish in towards the middle, so you end up with a large spiral. Don't worry if it cracks a bit - you can layer the filo to cover any cracks. Brush the whole spiral with more butter, sprinkle over the chilli flakes and bake for 50-60 mins until deep, golden brown. Scatter over the extra coriander to serve.

Steps:

• Roast tomatoes for sauce:
• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Toss tomatoes with 3 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and arrange, cut sides up, in 1 layer in 2 oiled glass or ceramic shallow baking dishes. Roast tomatoes in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of dishes halfway through baking, until skins are wrinkled and beginning to brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly in baking dishes on racks.
• Roast eggplant for lasagne:
• Toss eggplant slices with oil, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and arrange in 1 layer on 2 oiled baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking and turning slices over once, until tender, 12 to 14 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Finish tomato sauce:
• When tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off skin and discard. Purée tomatoes with their juices in a blender, pulsing until almost smooth.
• Cook onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomato purée, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to about 4 cups, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil.
• Make filling and assemble lasagne:
• While sauce is simmering, cook spinach in a 3- to 4-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, 1 minute, then drain in a colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze any excess water from spinach and coarsely chop. Stir together ricotta, yolk, spinach, parmesan, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until combined well.
• Cook lasagne noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water , stirring occasionally, until tender. Drain noodles in a colander and rinse under cold running water.
• Spoon 2 cups tomato sauce into a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish (or other 3-quart shallow baking dish). Lay out 4 lasagne noodles on a work surface, then spread 1/3 cup filling evenly over each noodle and cover with eggplant slices in 1 layer. Roll up each and arrange spirals, seam sides down and without touching, over sauce in dish, then make 4 more rolls and arrange in dish. Brush noodles with water, then spoon some sauce down middle of rolls and cover dish tightly with foil.
• Bake in middle of oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. Heat remaining tomato sauce and serve on the side.