Tuna and Egg Briks

Ingredients

• 2 tbspolive oil
• 8scallions
• 7 ozspinach
• 4filo pastry, sheets
• 1 cantuna, drained
• 2eggs, beaten
• hot sauce, to taste (dash)
• 4tomatoes, chopped, for salad
• 1/4cucumber, for salad
• 1 tbsplemon juice
• 4 tbspapricot jam, to serve as chutney

Method

1. 1

   Warm a little of the oil in a large pan and soften the scallions over low heat. Three minutes should leave them limp and glossy without any color.

2. 2

   Add the spinach, clamp on a tight lid and cook until it collapses, stirring once or twice. Two or three minutes is enough.

3. 3

   Tip the greens into a strainer and leave them to drain and cool completely. Warm filling steams the pastry from the inside and there is no recovering the crispness.

4. 4

   Cut rounds about 12.5 cm across from the filo, six to a sheet, using a saucer as a template. Stack them and cover with plastic wrap so the edges do not dry and crack.

5. 5

   Heat the oven to 400°F (fan 350°F). Squeeze the cooled spinach hard in your fists to force out the last of the water.

6. 6

   Mix the squeezed spinach with the tuna, beaten egg and hot sauce, then season. It should hold its shape when pressed rather than slump.

7. 7

   Brush three filo rounds with oil and stack them, then spoon filling into the middle. Fold into a half-moon and twist the edge to seal it shut.

8. 8

   Repeat until eight parcels sit on a non-stick baking sheet. Brush the tops with the last of the oil.

9. 9

   Bake for twelve to fifteen minutes, until the pastry is crisp and deep gold. Start looking at twelve — thin filo turns from pale to burnt quickly.

10. 10

    Toss the tomatoes and cucumber with the lemon juice and seasoning. Serve the briks hot, with the salad and apricot jam alongside.