Mushroom and leek soufra

This flaky pie is made by folding, not rolling the pastry for an impressive finish and cross-section. It's simple to make, but set one down in the middle of the table and you're sure to impress.

• makes

  1

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 leeks, washed, cleaned and finely sliced
• 750 g mixed mushrooms, thinly sliced (e.g. button, Portobello, trumpet, Swiss Browns)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 14 sheets of Antoniou Fillo Pastry
• 250 ml olive oil for brushing

Before you begin this Fillo Pastry recipe, take your Fillo Pastry out of the fridge for at least 2 hours, still in its plastic bag and allow it to come up to room temperature.

Resting time: 10 minutes

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium heat and add the leeks. Stir and allow the leeks to cook and soften - about 5 mins. Add the mushrooms, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Give the mixture a good stir and cook until the mushrooms have softened and the mixture has decreased by more than half. (be sure to constantly stir - this can take up to 15 mins). Season with salt and pepper, place in a bowl, allow to cool and set aside.

2. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and brush a 30 cm round baking dish liberally with olive oil.

3. Take one sheet of Fillo and place on a clean bench with the shorter edge facing you. Brush liberally with olive oil and place another sheet on top. Scatter approximately two tablespoons of the cooked mushrooms across the Fillo. Be sure not to overfill the Fillo too much.

Start at the bottom of the Fillo sheet, scrunching away from you to gather the Fillo sheet in an accordion-like fashion.

4. Pick up the folded sheet and place in the centre of the baking tray. Begin turning it onto itself to form the centre of the spiral. Repeat with the remaining sheets and filling, adding to the outside of the centre spiral until the tray is full. Brush with olive oil and cook for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Allow the soufra to cool for 10 mins in the baking tray before serving.

Notes

•We used a baking dish measuring 30 cm in diameter x 5 cm deep. You can also use a 25 cm x 35 cm baking tray too.

•Be sure not to add too much filling to each layer, otherwise it will be difficult to scrunch the Fillo.

Recipe & photography for Antoniou Fillo Pastry by Souvlaki for the Soul.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.