Fried pastries with seafood

PREPARATION  25 minutes

COOKING  15 minutes

MAKES  24

Fish or prawn filling

250 g (9 oz) boneless white fish fillets, or 200 g (7 oz) cooked prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

1 tablespoon spring onion (scallion), finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 sheets filo pastry

1 egg white, lightly beaten

oil, for deep-frying

3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar, to serve

¹/₈ teaspoon cayenne pepper, to serve

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, to serve

To make the fish or prawn filling, first poach the fish gently in lightly salted water, to cover, until the flesh flakes – about 4–5 minutes. Remove from the poaching liquid to a plate and cover closely with plastic wrap so that the surface does not dry as it cools. When cool, flake the fish and put it in a bowl. If using cooked prawns, cut them into small pieces. Put the fish or the prawns in a bowl, add the parsley, spring onion, garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and olive oil and toss well to mix.

Stack filo sheets on a cutting board, and with a ruler and sharp knife, measure and cut across the width of the pastry to give strips 12 cm (4½ inch) wide and 28–30 cm (11¼–12 inch) long. Stack the cut filo in the folds of a dry tea towel (dish towel) or cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

Take a filo strip and, with the narrow end towards you, fold it in half across its width to make a strip 6 cm (2½ inch) wide. Place a generous teaspoon of filling 2 cm (¾ inch) in from the base of the strip, fold the end diagonally across the filling so that the base lines up with the side of the strip, forming a triangle. Fold straight up once, then fold diagonally to the opposite side. Continue folding until near the end of the strip, then brush the filo lightly with egg white and complete the fold. Place on a cloth-covered tray, seam side down. Cover with a tea towel until ready to fry, and cook within 10 minutes.

Heat oil to 180°C (350°F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Add four pastries at a time and fry until golden, turning to brown evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towel. Serve hot with a small bowl of sugar mixed with cayenne and cinnamon.