AUBERGINE, TOMATO & FETA BAKLAVA

Aubergine, tomato & feta baklava image

This impressive make-ahead vegetarian dish layers up a spiced veggie filling with crispy filo pastry - perfect with a light salad

Provided by Maria Elia

Time 2h5m

Number Of Ingredients 21

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Ingredients

100ml olive oil , plus extra for brushing
2 onions , halved and finely sliced
500g aubergine , cut into long 5mm thick slices
2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 tbsp tomato purée
10 vine-ripened plum tomatoes , skinned and roughly chopped
pinch of sugar
1 bunch dill , finely chopped
2 tsp dried mint
dash of red wine vinegar
1 pack filo pastry (14 sheets)
100g butter , melted
100g medjool dates , stoned and finely sliced
50g flaked almonds
200g feta , crumbled
6 tbsp clear honey
houmous , to serve
dressed green leaves , to serve
parsley , to serve
chopped Kalamata olives , to serve

Steps:

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan over a low heat and sauté the onions until softened and sticky - this can take up to 30 mins.
Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan until very hot. Brush a few of the aubergine slices with a little oil, sprinkle with sea salt and cook over a high heat until well charred and cooked through, 5-7 mins, turning halfway through cooking. Lift onto kitchen paper and cook the remaining slices.
Add the garlic, cinnamon and tomato purée to the onions and cook for a further 2 mins. Add the tomatoes, sugar, dill, mint, vinegar and a generous pinch of sea salt. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 mins until thickened. Adjust the seasoning to taste and allow to cool. Can be made up to 2 days ahead.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Unfold the pastry and cover with a damp cloth to prevent it drying out. Brush a baking tray (about 30 x 20cm) with melted butter. Line the tray with a sheet of filo (cut to fit if too big), brush with butter and repeat until you have a 6-layer thickness. Spread half the tomato mixture over the pastry, top with half each of the dates, almonds and feta, and cover with half of the aubergine slices. Sandwich another 4 layers of filo together with melted butter and place on top of the aubergines. Top with the remaining tomato mixture, dates, feta and aubergines. Sandwich the remaining 4 filo sheets together as before and place on top.
Lightly score the top, cutting into diamonds about 5 x 10cm. Brush with the remaining butter, splash with a little water and cook for 35-45 mins or until golden. Leave to cool a little before serving, then drizzle each portion with a little honey. Serve with houmous and a bowl of mixed green leaves, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, with flat-leaf parsley leaves and chopped Kalamata olives.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 869 calories, Fat 46 grams fat, SaturatedFat 17 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 91 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 38 grams sugar, Fiber 9 grams fiber, Protein 20 grams protein, Sodium 2.4 milligram of sodium