Recipe: Cranberry Filo Cigars

Cranberry Filo Cigars

For a deliciously festive nibble try Celia Brooks Brown's dainty filo parcels, ideal for a drinks party

50g (1/3 cup) dried cranberries
50g (2/3 cup) ground almonds
1 tbsp capers in vinegar, drained
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seed
3 small sheets Filo pastry, (16cm x 30cm approximately)
25g (2 tablespoons) Butter, melted

Place the cranberries in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Set aside to soak for 15-20 minutes, until soft, then drain thoroughly.

In a food processor or spice grinder, combine the reconstituted cranberries, ground almonds, capers, dill, and cumin seed. Process into a puree. Alternatively, chop the ingredients very finely and combine.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 C/gas 7).

Take one sheet of filo pastry, and keep the rest covered with a damp tea towel.

Lay the filo pastry out horizontally on a clean, flat surface. Brush all over with melted butter. Along the bottom of the pastry, about 2 cm above the edge, arrange a long a strip of the cranberry mixture, about a little-finger's width.

Fold the bottom edge carefully over the filling, then roll the entire long sausage up tightly, moving along in sections, until completely rolled into one long cigar.

Using a knife or scissors, snip off the very ends of the cigar, then snip into baby cigars, about 5cm long. Place the filo cigars on a greased baking sheet, lined with baking parchment. Brush again generously with butter.

Repeat the process until the filo sheets have been used up.

Bake the filo cigars until golden all over, about 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Servings: Makes 15
adapted from a recipe by Celia Brooks Brown,
from Good Food Bites