by Nelleke Gorton

Ingredients

125g butter

125g Swiss brown mushrooms – thickly sliced

125g button mushrooms – thickly sliced

1 med onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon dry sherry

125g cream cheese (room temperature)

½ cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon dried dill (or use fresh if available)

½ tsp mixed dried herbs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup plain yoghurt

8 sheets filo pastry – fresh, not frozen

Poppy seeds to decorate

Method

1. Melt half the butter in a frying pan over moderately high heat. Add all mushrooms, onion, garlic and sauté 4 minutes until tender then add the lemon juice, sherry and cook stirring until all liquids have evaporated – 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add the cream cheese, almonds and herbs and mix until cheese has melted – then the yoghurt and the sauce and cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

3. Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan.

4. Stack the 8 filo pastry sheets on a large tea towel and brush some butter over the top sheet.  Turn this sheet over on top of the sheet below it and brush again. Next turn 2 sheets over together and brush the top one. Keep turning over 3, 4, 5 etc together until you have a total of 8 buttered sheets.

5. Spoon the mushroom mixture evenly along one long end of the stack, leaving a 4 cm border at the three edges. Tuck in the sides and roll up in Swiss roll fashion.

6. Place on a paper-lined baking sheet and brush pastry roll with any remaining melted butter and sprinkle over the poppy seed. With a sharp knife cut diagonal cuts 2.5 cm apart BUT ONLY half-way through to the base.

7. Bake at 180ºC for approximately 30 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Nelleke Gorton is a well-travelled pastry chef who delights in hands-on cooking classes in her kitchen near Tanja. Nelleke shares her cooking experiences on her Facebook page – Nelleke’s Culinary Adventures.