Recipes from professional Chef Tallyrand:

FILO / PHYLLO PASTRY

I have been receiving requests for the recipe for this most versatile of pastries, filo pastry. It is of course readily available in most supermarkets these days and in the opinion of most chefs, certainly mine, one of the god sends of convenience products.

The production of filo pastry is not for the faint hearted, it requires not only a lot of time and patience but skill also. It will require quite a few attempts to be able to judge the dough's correct consistency and also the technique for stretching it without breaking / ripping the dough.

I personally have only ever made filo pastry maybe a half dozen times in my life. The eventual feeling of satisfaction is wonderful but I haven't found that that feeling warrants the work involved. Especially when I can pick up such a great pre-made product from the local supermarket. That said, it is worth a go, even if you do it just the once. If for no other reason than to appreciate the work involved to churn out tonnes of it commercially or what the Greek and Turkish cooks have done for decades.

I still remember the first time I saw filo pastry made by hand. I was in Greece and I watched as a friends grandmother and mother went about the task - kneading and stretching, kneading and stretching . . . and trust me after make a good size batch of this, you will also require the hands of a loving partner to knead and stretch your shoulder muscles back to a relaxed state.

For all that, once produced, by hand or commercially, there are so many dishes and ways to use this delicate and versatile pastry. It can be used to replace other pastries for many dishes. Replace the puff pastry in beef Wellington for example, or replace the dough normally used for samosas, spring rolls and wontons. The links below however will take you to my recipes that are supposed to use filo pastry and a tips page on using the pastry

• Filo pastry tips <click here>
• Baklava <click here>
• Prawn and cheese mille feuille <click here>
• Cheese parcels with fresh berries <click here>
• Vegetarian spring rolls with cashews <click here>
• Winter curry rolls with basmati rice <click here>

Filo / Phyllo Pastry Recipe

Ingredients for filo pastry

flour	400	gm
salt	1	tsp
warm water	125	ml
olive oil	2	tbs
cornflour		sq

How to make filo pastry

1. Sift flour and salt into bowl
2. Gradually add the water to make a stiff dough (use more or less of the water as required)
3. Place a little oil on hands and knead the dough on a work surface, gradually work in all the oil this way until a smooth, elastic dough is achieved
4. Roll the dough in a little more oil and place in a bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and allow to stand in a warm place for approximately 2 hours to rest
5. Scale the dough down into 10 parts and roll to 1/4-inch thickness on a pastry board lightly dusted with cornstarch
6. Cover with a cloth and allow to relax for 10 minutes
7. Cover a table work bench with a smooth, clean cloth and lift rolled dough onto it
8. Putting your hands, palms down under the dough, gently stretch the dough with the back of hands, working around the table until the dough is stretched and as thin as tissue paper and approximately 35 x 35 cm square
9. Cut the filo pastry into required shapes and use immediately or store under a damp cloth

Enjoy your filo pastry and bon appetit . . . . .

Published 01 June 2004