Holiday Appetizer: Spiced Beef Filo Rolls

Hi friends!  Today’s recipe is for a delicious Holiday Appetizer:  Spiced Beef Filo Rolls – a festive, beautiful, and unexpected appetizer to share during the holidays, which your friends and family will love!

Layers of crispy, flaky filo pastry is filled with a flavor-packed, spiced meat mixture of warm spices, cumin and coriander, and, currants for a little sweetness.  Serve these alongside a creamy yogurt and mint sauce and you have the perfect finger food for your holiday buffet or pot luck party.

The recipe could not be easier to assemble, especially if you make the meat filling ahead of time.  Once you form the filo rolls, you can store them in the refrigerator or freezer to bake later, or, pull out a few of them at a time and bake when you want a quick appetizer!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SPICED BEEF FILO ROLLS 

• Filo pastry:  nothing beats the convenience of a package of filo dough in your refrigerator — it offers endless possibilities for savory and sweet dishes that you can put together in no time.  Good quality filo is essential; for this recipe I used thin (#4) Fillo Factory pastry
• Ground beef:  you can easily substitute ground beef for the lamb, or, combine both, if you prefer
• Extra virgin olive oil:  for cooking the meat and brushing on the filo
• A variety of spices:  ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, and bay leaf
• Tomatoes:  crushed, canned tomatoes (or, fresh when in season)
• Onion and garlic:  red or yellow onion and at least 3 garlic cloves
• Fresh mint:  do not omit this, as it adds a lot of flavor
• Dried fruit:  for a pop of sweetness I used dried currants, but you can easily substitute with raisins.  If you do, however, remember that they need to be chopped first

HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE SPICED BEEF FILO ROLLS 

1. Measure out the spices you will need for the recipe

2.  Make the delicious meat filling and let it cool.  You can even make it the day before and just gently reheat before using. If you have any leftovers, they are great over rice

3. Place a couple of spoonfuls of the filling onto half a sheet of filo pastry

4. Fold the sides over the filling and brush the filo with olive oil

5.  Start rolling away from you to form a roll about 4” long

6. Place the filo rolls on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown

7. Once they cool slightly, sprinkle the rolls with fresh mint and pomegranate arils and serve with a cool yogurt and mint sauce!

A FEW TIPS ABOUT THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FILO

1. Filo comes in different thicknesses:  the number you see on a box of filo indicates how thick it is. The lower the number, the thinner and more delicate the filo.  Lower numbered filo requires a lighter touch with the pastry brush to avoid tearing.  The most common numbers are #4 (thin and pliable) and #7 (slightly thicker, a bit easier to work with).
2. Filo comes in different sizes:  some packages have large sizes of filo (13″ x 18″), suitable for larger pans, and some packages have smaller sizes of filo (9″ x 13″), for smaller pans. If you are using a smaller pan but can only find the larger-sized filo, just cut the larger sheets in half.
3. The weight of the filo:  no matter what the size or the thickness, the weight of a filo package in the U.S. is always going to be one pound. This means that the box with the thinner filo will have more sheets while the box with the thicker filo will have fewer!

This recipe is a collaboration with Fillo Factory. You can find this favorite filo dough (along with puff pastry) at Whole Foods and several small local stores.  I love the quality of the Fillo Factory products and I always make sure to stash a couple of boxes in the freezer!

✨Besides serving these crispy filo rolls as an appetizer, you can also serve them as a light meal alongside your favorite seasonal salad.  They are so, so good and I hope you give them a try! ✨

5.0 from 2 reviews

Holiday Appetizer: Spiced Beef Filo Rolls

 

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Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

A festive, holiday appetizer of crispy filo pastry and a delicious, spicy beef mixture

Author: Marilena Leavitt

Recipe type: Appetizer/Light Meal

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Serves: 30

Ingredients

• For the rolls::
• --- 1 package 12”x17” filo pastry) defrosted (Fillo Factory)
• 2 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion
• 3 med. cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp. sweet paprika
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup dried currants
• ½ cup fresh mint, minced
• --- olive oil for brushing on the filo
• For the yogurt-mint sauce:
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 med. cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP. fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• — sea salt & pepper to taste
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, minced
• For serving:
• Fresh mint, flaky sea salt, pomegranate arils, and yogurt–mint sauce

Instructions

1. Remove the filo pastry from the refrigerator
2. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
3. To make the meat filling, place a large, heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, stir in the onions. Gently cook for 3 minutes, or, until softened and then add the garlic, cooking for one more minute. Push the onions and garlic to the sides of the skillet and add the ground beef. Cook the meat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and incorporating the onion and garlic. Next, add the spices and cook for two minutes more.
4. Once the meat is nicely browned, add the crushed tomatoes and the water and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is mostly absorbed by the meat. Towards the end of the cooking, fold in the dried currants and the fresh mint. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool.
5. To make the yogurt-mint sauce, place all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until everything is incorporated. Refrigerate for at least an hour (or better, overnight).
6. To form the filo rolls, remove the filo pastry from the package and place it on a clean surface, with the wider side (17”) placed in front of you. With a sharp knife, cut the whole stack vertically in the middle so you have two stacks each (8.5” x 12”). Place one half stack on top of the other half and keep it covered with a clean kitchen towel while you work with each filo sheet.
7. Lay one sheet of filo, with its narrowest side (8.5”) in front of you. Brush lightly with olive oil. Place about two tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center, at the end closest to you. Fold the sides of the filo in about one inch or so over the filling and brush again with a little olive oil. Start rolling away from you to form a roll about 4” long, making sure the long end of the filo is sealed with the olive oil.
8. Place the filo rolls on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with more filo and the rest of the meat filling.
9. Lightly brush the rolls with some olive oil, sprinkle with some coarse sea salt and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven, and allow them to cool slightly. Place on a serving platter, sprinkle with some mint, scatter some pomegranate arils and serve with the cool yogurt and mint sauce.

3.5.3240