January 26, 2010: Savoury Baklava Together With Orange-Olive Salad

Savoury baklava. The persuasion of it was irresistible to me, fifty-fifty to a greater extent than thus when I read an cistron listing that included sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, fetta, dates as well as cinnamon. But I needed to brand a hearty dinner that would extend to a couplet of leftover lunches, thus I decided to sub out the rich, salty fetta for theatre tofu. Then I figured, why non drive veganising the entire thing? I've been wondering how filo fares when it's brushed amongst stone oil instead of butter.

The answer is that it fares rather good indeed. I intend the flavour's a piffling different, but no less delicious. I infused the tofu amongst a piffling extra flavour past times stirring through a piffling tabular array salt as well as unopen to of the sun-dried tomatoes' marinating stone oil as well as didn't lady friend the cheese i bit. The i cistron that was surprisingly conspicuous, though, was the almonds. Perhaps my chopping was a piffling also rough, but they retained much of their squelch as well as didn't truly blend inwards amongst the residue of the filling. I suppose I could chop or fifty-fifty grind those almonds a piffling to a greater extent than finely inwards time to come but truly they got me to thinking close pino nuts equally a potential replacement. Then I started thinking close preserved lemons instead of the dates, or fifty-fifty dried apricots? Other herbs, other bakeable vegetables... this recipe could serve equally a basic outline for dozens of dissimilar pies (one of them, most obviously, existence spanakopita).

this recipe on Gourmet Worrier, which itself is adapted from The Modern Vegetarian past times Maria Elia)

2 ruby onion, finely sliced into circles
3 cloves garlic, minced
100mL olive oil
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
200g sun-dried tomatoes, unopen to liquid reserved
1/3 loving cup water
1/2 loving cup fresh dill, finely chopped
300g theatre tofu
salt, to taste
250g almonds, roughly chopped
10 dates, pitted as well as finely chopped
150g filo pastry
agave nectar

Over depression heat, gently laid upwardly the onions as well as garlic inwards 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the cinnamon as well as saccharide as well as piece of job on to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions a caramelised (I gave them at to the lowest degree 10 minutes). Add the sun-dried tomatoes, H2O as well as dill, as well as laid upwardly for a farther 5 minutes or so, until most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Crumble the tofu into a bowl, sprinkle it amongst a few tablespoons of the sun-dried tomatoes' marinating liquid as well as flavor it amongst salt.

Brush a large rectangular baking dish amongst unopen to of the remaining olive oil, as well as laid out the filo pastry on a damp teatowel to preclude it from drying out. Layer close 5 pastry sheets inwards the bottom of the baking dish, brushing a piffling olive stone oil betwixt each layer.

Spread one-half the tomato-onion mixture over the pastry, as well as thus sprinkle over one-half the almonds, one-half the dates as well as one-half of the tofu. Repeat amongst 5 to a greater extent than filo pastry layers, the remaining tomato-onion mixture, almonds, dates as well as tofu. Top amongst to a greater extent than oil-brushed pastry as well as a calorie-free splash of water.

Bake the baklava for 30-40 minutes, until the elevation is golden brown. Allow it to cool slightly earlier drizzling it lightly amongst agave nectar, slicing as well as serving.

Orange-olive salad

1/2 loving cup olive oil
1 tablespoon white vino or champagne vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon castor sugar
100g rocket
1 bunch watercress
1 pocket-size caput of witlof
3 large oranges, peeled as well as sliced into segments
1 avocado, sliced into chunks
1/4 loving cup kalamata olives
1/4 loving cup almonds, roughly chopped

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegars as well as sugar. Add the remaining ingredients as well as gently toss them through the dressing.