Sausage and spinach filo swirl
There are not many ingredients in this recipe and it is simple to make but so very tasty to eat! Similar to Greek spanakopita using filo pastry and spinach, I bake it in a cake tin to help the sausage swirl keep its shape.
Ingredients
- knob of butter, plus extra for greasing
- 1 small leek, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 150g/5½oz baby spinach
- 6 good-quality pork sausages (about 500g/1lb 2oz total weight)
- 4 filo pastry sheets (each sheet measuring 25x45cm/10x18in)
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú butter, melted
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Grease the sides of a 20cm/8in loose-bottomed cake tin and place the ring on a baking tray (no need to use the base of the tin).
Melt the knob of butter in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the leek and fry for a few minutes, then cover with a lid, lower the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Increase the heat, add the garlic and spinach and fry for a few minutes, until the spinach has wilted. Tip all of the vegetables into a bowl to cool.
Remove the sausage meat from their skins and place in the bowl with the cooled vegetables. Season with pepper and mix using your hands.
Brush the sheets of filo with the melted butter and stick them together, end to end in two layers, to make a long rectangle measuring about 25x90cm/10x36in. Shape the sausage mixture into a long sausage, the same length as the filo rectangle. Place the sausage along one long edge of the pastry and roll, brushing with butter in between each roll. You should end up with a long sausage encased in filo. Bend the filo roll into the ring to make a swirl. Brush the top with more butter and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Place on the baking tray and bake for 40–45 minutes, until golden and crisp. Remove the ring and cut into wedges to serve.
Recipe Tips
This swirl can be prepared ready for baking up to 8 hours ahead, then cooked to serve. It can be cooked up to 4 hours ahead and reheated in a hot oven to serve. It also freezes well raw.
