Chorizo and sweetcorn filo pie

Filo low-down

Filo or phyllo pastry, from a Greek word for leaf, is leaf-thin, almost transparent and hugely versatile. It isn’t of Greek origin in spite of all the spanakopitas of Athens, but comes from further East and possibly as far back in history as ancient Egypt.

But in the form we know it, its birthplace is Turkey, where posh families used to employ their own filo makers.

Filo has not stayed within Turkey and Greece only but spread into North Africa to produce Moroccan pastillas (bisteeyas) and Tunisian brik pastries. It even wandered north to eastern Europe arriving there as strudel pastry.

It’s lighter than puff or shortcrust because there is only as much fat in it as you will spread the sheets with. It is wonderful in both sweet productions, with baklavas leading the way, as well as savoury pies, borek, tartlets and pastries. And it has a fancy relative called kataifi: finely shredded and extraordinarily decorative.

How to handle filo pastry

I hear that some people are terrified of filo because it has a reputation of drying out instantaneously if left uncovered. That is absolutely not true. Indeed, it will dry and curl if left out for ten minutes or longer, but you certainly don’t need to madly rush preparing it for a pie or a dessert.

The handling amounts to brushing it with oil or melted butter or ghee. A single sheet needs to be brushed on one side only, followed by the next stacked or fanned on top of it.

Whether chilled or frozen and thawed, I find the best way of handling it is to prepare a stack of however many sheets you’ll need, full sized or cut in half with a sharp knife if you’re going to build a smaller pie.

Prepare a bowl with oil or melted butter/ghee – and go at it with your hands. All the pastry brushes are useless because you’ll end up manipulating filo sheets with your fingers anyway. Plus, you’ll have a much better feel for how much fat you’re spreading on the pastry.

Filling for chorizo and sweetcorn pie

The flavour combo is the one I often use for sweetcorn dishes: spicy, sweet and acidic.

Diced chorizo boosted with paprika and cayenne is cooked until crisp, and the rendered fat flavours sweetcorn which can be used fresh as well as frozen. Maple syrup and lime juice complete the flavour bomb and I wouldn’t blame you if you ate it just as it is, with a spoon, which I’ve been known to do.

The cheesy element in filo pies is usually feta, but I have discovered that a mix of ricotta and sharp, grated hard cheese like Cheddar produces a similar texture, albeit not as salty as feta. Which I think goes better with the chorizo-corn layer underneath.

Building a filo pie

As explained above, it’s easy if you prepare your work station efficiently, with the melted butter in a bowl, the pastry stack, the dish for the pie and clean hands.

Brush each layer of pastry, then arrange it in the dish or tin so it half-overhangs. Arrange the next, brushed sheet either fanning it around like a hand of cards, or symmetrically at opposite ends then at right angles.

Either way, you’ll end up with the dish lined with six pastry layers and overhanging edges ready to pack over the filling.

The chorizo and sweetcorn goes at the bottom, with the cheese mix crumbled over. The pastry cover needn’t be perfect or even completely enveloping the filling. Instead, make sure it’s brushed with any remaining ghee all over.

At this stage you can chill the pie up to overnight, which is handy if it’s to be a party piece.

It needs about forty-five minutes in medium-hot oven, or until it is beautifully golden-brown and crisp.

More filo pastry recipes

Spanakopita, always mispronounced as spinakopita, is Greek spinach pie wrapped in filo pastry. The best spanakopita, with spinach and feta cheese filling, made into one large pie and cut it into triangular slices.

Filo pastry parcels coiled into snails. These filo snails are mushroom and spinach parcels or little pies, coiled in shape of snails. You can add feta, ricotta or mozzarella to the filling mix.

Ottolenghi inspired fondue filo pie, with butternut squash swapped for mushrooms. It’s a combo of Savoyarde raclette experience and a Greek or Middle Eastern filo pastry, and it’s excellent.

More recipes with chorizo

Hasselback chorizo stuffed with halloumi chunks is an upscale, deconstructed hot dog and completely irresistible. This is your guilty food pleasure turned into a proper meal!

Crispy rice with chorizo and mushrooms blasted under the grill for super-crunchy breadcrumb and Parmesan topping. A dish based on the paella theme but ten times easier to make.

Butter beans and chorizo dish with crispy Parmesan topping, a little heat from a chilli and saltiness from anchovy. Beans and sausage, but not as you know it!