Recipes

Pistachio and chocolate filo parcels with sweet tahini dip

Jun 22, 2015

I grew up having my grandmother’s samosas.

They were never sweet, always savoury, and like any proud grandmother she would make her own pastry. You can think of this recipe as a sweet samosa stuffed with chocolate and layered with pistachios. There is nothing wrong with using
shop-bought pastry; this recipe calls for filo, and the paper-thin sheets turn beautifully crispy in the oven. Making the parcels is a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a breeze.

Makes 12 parcels

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 12–15 minutes

Ingredients

24 sheets filo pastry, cut into rectangles 8 x 18cm (31/4 x 7in)
50g (13/4oz) unsalted butter, melted
50g (13/4oz) shelled pistachio nuts, finely chopped
1 tbsp icing sugar
60g (21/4oz) chocolate (I prefer dark), chopped into small pieces

Sweet tahini dip

2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp golden syrup

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C
Mark 4 and line a baking sheet with nonstick baking paper.
Lay out a sheet of filo and brush it lightly with melted butter.
Sprinkle over some pistachios and a good pinch of icing sugar.
Lay another sheet of filo on top. Have the long side of the rectangle facing you. Place a few pieces of chocolate a few centimetres (one inch) in from the left-hand side, in the middle.
Fold the bottom left-hand corner of the pastry up to the top of the pastry sheet to form a triangle, then fold the triangle to the right by flipping the left corner over to the right. There will be a big flap of pastry on the right. Brush it with more butter and sprinkle it with nuts and icing sugar. Fold the top left point of the triangle down to the bottom and fold the flap over, encasing the chocolate. Brush the parcel all over with melted butter and lay on the lined baking sheet. Make the rest of the parcels in the same way.
Pop in the oven to cook through for 12–15 minutes, or until golden brown. You may need to flip the parcels over halfway through.
In the meantime, mix the sweet tahini dip ingredients together in a small bowl.
Once the parcels are ready, let cool for 5 minutes before piling high on a platter with the sweet tahini dip on the side.

PS: My Secret Tahini is sesame seed paste and can be found in most supermarkets. If it’s not available, or for a change, you can use peanut butter instead. Just add less golden syrup and enough milk to make it thick and creamy.

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