Guest recipes with Tonia Buxton

An Eastern lunch

 

Chickpea Filo Triangles

This is one of the dishes that’s on my vegan menu for The Real Greek. It has proved to be very popular as it has the perfect balance of aroma and spice.

Makes 12-16

1 pack filo pastry

olive oil, for brushing

For the filling

2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained

1 onion, cut into quarters

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground turmeric

40g sundried tomatoes

1 small red chilli, very finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

30g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

black and white seasame seeds for sprinkling (optional)

 

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place all the filling ingredients except for the sesame seeds into a food processor and blitz into a coarse paste.

Remove the filo pastry from the wrapper and unroll onto a clean work surface. Cut through the centre vertically so you have two even sections. Place one on top of the other. Use two sheets per triangle.

Place 1 heaped tsp (do not overfill) of filling at the bottom of each strip and then start folding the pastry around the filling. Seal the triangle with a dab of olive oil. Lightly brush with olive oil (you don’t want the pastry to be oily) and sprinkle with a little salt.

Place the pastries on the lined baking tray, under damp kitchen paper, and continue until you have used up all the filling or pastry sheets. Sprinkle them with dark and light sesame seeds (if using).

Bake for 12–15 minutes until golden.

 

Moroccan Tomato and Pepper Salad

4 green peppers

4 fresh tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

4 garlic cloves finely chopped

8 mint leaves finely chopped

a pinch of salt

a squeeze of lemon juice

a small bunch of parsley finely chopped

 

Grill the green peppers over a flame until the skins are blackened and blistered all over, then put in an airtight or ziplock plastic bag for 15 minutes. Peel off the skin and remove the seeds, then cut into fine strips.

Peel and dice the tomatoes.

Place the oil, diced tomatoes, spices and garlic in a pan and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes. As you cook, mash the tomatoes into a paste, then add the green pepper strips and mint and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt, add a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle parsley over the top.

 

Tonia Buxton has written four cookbooks and is a well-known TV celebrity and chef. For more information visit toniabuxton.co.uk