Herb and Fetta Filos Rolls
My potted herb garden is flourishing in the Brisbane humidity. The pots of chives and parsley I shifted from Melbourne. I cut them right back, then they were wrapped in paper, boxed, shifted, then stored for 2 1/2 weeks. Without light and water they managed to survive. Once unpacked, within a week they had regained their vigour and were reaching for the sky. I call them my miracle herbs.
The potted oregano, thyme, lemon thyme, basil, rosemary and mint I bought soon after arriving here. They needed to be cut back to give them the chance to bush up so a colander filled with herbaceous trimmings inspired these crisp flaky filos cigars.
The aromatic flavours of my fresh herbs with added dill and coriander from the fridge, the zest of a lemon, fetta cheese and sumac transported me to the sunny southern coast of Turkey, at a small roadside cafe where I ate an instantly memorable light and flaky cheese and herb gozleme.
Herb and Fetta Filos Rolls
200g fetta cheese
1/2 cup very finely chopped herbs I used garlic chives, thyme, lemon thyme, rosemary, oregano, dill, coriander and parsley
very very generous grinding of black pepper
1/2 teaspon ground sumac
1 teaspoon finely grated zest of a lemon
1 egg
6-8 sheets of filo pastry
60g butter, melted
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Preheat the oven to 180C, and line an ovenproof tray with baking paper.
Finely crumble the fetta cheese into a mixing bowl. Add the herbs, sumac, lemon zest, pepper and egg. Thoroughly combine.
Cut the sheets of filo pastry in half so you have 12-16 pieces 28cm X 23cm.
Lay the filo on the worktop and cover with a piece of plastic wrap and a dampened cloth. Work with only one sheet at a time as filo dries out very quickly.
Brush a half of a piece of filo lightly with butter and fold so you have a double thickness.
Spread a dessertspoon of the cheese mixture along a short edge, leaving 1cm clear at each end. Roll the pastry into a cigar shape and seal with a dob of butter. There is no need to turn in the sides, simply flatten the ends to seal.
Continue making rolls until the mixture is used.
Lay the filos on the baking tray with 1cm between. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake until crisp and golden 10 – 15 minutes.
Serve immediately.
The pastry rolls can be kept refrigerated and baked just before serving, or freeze then transfer straight from the freezer to the oven.
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23 comments on “Herb and Fetta Filos Rolls”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
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Beautiful! I can just feel biting into these, and the creamy insides.
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These caught my eye on instagram so I’m glad to see the recipe now. Feta, loads of herbs in crispy filo – you can’t go wrong can you.
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Hi Nancy, glad you chased the recipe down, it’s a really simple idea, but delicious
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I couldn’t wait to read how you rolled them. We make spanakopita quite often and I’ve only once made little individual triangle shaped single servings. It was so time consuming I never did it again. 🙂 I’m going to make your cigar shapes next time and leave out the spinach and use herbs instead. Great to serve as an appetizer!
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Thanks Seana. It was a lot quicker to make filo rolls, but there’s something about the triangles that I love, despite the time they take. I thinks you’ll like the fresh herbs with the cheese for a change
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Sounds great, Sandra. I have some FILO in the fridge that needs using up.
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You’ve probably got herbs in the garden that need trimming too, enjoy
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So lovely to be able to snip your own herbs whenever required. Really love this adaptation Sandra with herbs, instead of spinach… yum! Must give it a try very soon.
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The herbs are going gangbusters Margot, they’re growing before my eyes. I think you’d like this filo filling
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Ah, sumac as well as your miracle herbs. How very cool that they survived! And great that they can be frozen and then cooked, perfect for a dinner party.
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Damn the internet, my reply isn”t sticking. I used to fold filos by million in my catering days. They are fabulous straight from the freezer to the oven
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Lovely, Sandra. I could do with some miracle herbs! Great combination for Sigara.
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I was totally delighted by the resilience of the chives. My herbs are flourishing in the humidity so you’ll see lots more recipes using fresh herbs over the coming months
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Yum!
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Indeed they were Sue
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Oh wonderful. This is such a fragrant version of Lebanese cheese rolls, I love the idea of piling up all kinds of herbs together. The addition of tangy sumac and salty feta, and the delicious crispiness of filo dough sounds like heaven to me
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Thanks Darya, they were a delicious reminder of travels
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I have never tried growing lemon thyme but after reading how hardy your herbs are I may try it. I’d love a plate of these lovely rolls right now, thanks #hungry
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Lemon thyme is fairly resilient, much like common thyme, it just have beautiful lemon overtones. I love it. Do I see changes at the Hungry Mum?
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ha ha! No changes – still all about the sugar, baby – but I do love baking with fresh herbs. I’ve blogged a rosemary cake recipe before and I have some sweet recipes for lemon thyme that I’d love to try.
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These look so delicious Sandra! Yum. I love the combination of herbs (especially mint) and feta cheese, so I can imagine how good they’d be tucked inside that crispy pastry! Glad that your herbs are doing well (I am desperately trying to keep mine alive as the dry West Australian heat sets in!) x
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Mint with fetta is a favourite of mine Laura. Brissy’s humidity is perfect for the herb garden, they’d be struggling in downtown Melbourne.
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