Vegetable Strudel

What a great vegie hit, with my favourite flavour combination, in a comforting filo pie.

You can use any vegetables you like in this dish – the main requirements are that they are pre-cooked/roasted, can be sliced evenly to layer in the pastry on top of each other and they must have the extra liquid removed or drained or else the pastry will become too soggy and fall apart.

If in a hurry I buy pre-roasted vegetables from a deli or jar which then makes this dish super quick to assemble. 

Pictured: Vegetable Strudel

3 small eggplant, or 1 large- sliced lengthways – can replace with ready roasted eggplant from a deli or jar, drained well

1 red capsicum, deseeded, ready for roasting - can replace with ready roasted capsicum from a deli or jar –drained well

3 zucchini, sliced lengthways, ready for roasting – can replace with roasted/marinated artichokes from a deli or jar – drained well

1 packet haloumi cheese, sliced, substitute with feta

6 sheets filo pastry – I like the Antoniou brand that can be kept in the fridge, ready to use straight away

Spray light olive oil or rice bran oil – or use a brush

Fresh pesto or basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 190 °C.

Spray or brush the eggplant and zucchini with light olive oil and grill or roast til soft and golden. If it is a large eggplant, you may like to salt the slices first to remove some of the bitterness – let sit for 20 minutes and rinse off, pat dry. Baby eggplant is not as bitter and doesn’t require this step which I tend to buy when there is a choice.

Brush with oil as well to grill the capsicum, skin side up, on high heat to blister and blacken the skin – place in a plastic bag while hot to sweat the capsicum a little, which helps the now blackened skin peel away from the flesh. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin.

Spray each filo sheet with oil as you layer them on top of each other.

Layer the vegetables on top down the middle in a rectangle leaving room on the sides to fold up at the end. I like to layer in order - the eggplant, capsicum, zucchini, artichokes, haloumi then pesto/basil  – repeat once more, season with a little pepper.

Tuck in the ends of the pastry, then roll up the parcel.

Spray with a little more oil and place on baking tray – bake 35 minutes.

Serve slices of strudel while hot with a rocket and avocado salad on the side, sprinkled with sunflower seeds. I like to also serve this with the jalapeno sauce from the sliders recipe.

Serves 4

Pictured: Vegetable Strudel Preparation