The Vegetarian Society - National Vegetarian Week 2005

Gingery Fig & Rhubarb Filo Flowers

Serves 4
Low Fat

Equipment
Non-stick muffin tins
1 large baking tray

Ingredients
For the filo flowers
110g filo pastry (6 sheets)
20g unsalted butter

For the filling
540g can rhubarb
255g quark
2 (or more) tbs syrup from the stem ginger jar
4 ready to eat dried figs, finely chopped
2 pieces stem ginger in syrup, drained and finely diced

To serve
2cm fresh ginger, peeled and cut into very fine matchsticks.
1tsp oil
1tsp castor sugar
2 passion fruit
100g strawberries or raspberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F / Gas mark 6
2. To make the filo flowers: melt the butter. Cut the pile of filo sheets into squares measuring 10cm / 10cm. Place the muffin tins inverted onto a large baking tray to help with handling.
3. Lightly brush a single square of filo pastry with butter. Place over an inverted muffin tin. Lightly brush another square of pastry and put on top of the first piece of pastry on the muffin tin, but at right angles to it. Repeat with two more squares of pastry. The effect should be like an inverted ‘flower’. Brush the top with a little more butter.
4. Repeat on three or four more muffin tins. It may be better to use every other muffin tin so that the ‘flowers’ do not stick together.
5. Bake the flowers for 4 – 5 minutes until lightly browned. Take care as they burn easily. Remove from the oven, carefully tip the flowers into a cooling rack.
6. For the filling: drain the rhubarb in a sieve. Using the back of a spoon, squeeze out much of the syrup until the rhubarb is fairly dry.
7. Put cheese, rhubarb and ginger syrup in a processor and pulse until the mixture is well combined. Put mixture into a bowl and mix in the diced stem ginger and figs. Taste and adjust sweetness and flavour with the ginger syrup. Let stand for at least 30 minutes for the flavours to mature and the figs to soften slightly. If some liquid separates on standing, simply stir it back in.
8. For the topping: heat the oil in a small saucepan and fry the ginger matchsticks until shrivelled. Drain on kitchen paper and toss in castor sugar.
9. To serve: carefully place a filo flower on each serving plate. Fill with the cheese mixture. Make an indentation in the centre of the cheese mixture and fill with a spoonful of passion fruit. Top with sugared ginger and garnish with a strawberry.

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