Method
- To make the tomato and garlic sauce, tip the tomatoes into a sieve and drain off the excess liquid. Heat the oil in small pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Tip in the tomatoes, and add the spices and a good pinch of salt. Mix well, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8–10 minutes or until lovely and thick. Serve.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with foil then oil it. Put the salmon, skin-side down on a plate with the prawns. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of the ras el hanout.
- Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Add the salmon, flesh-side down, and sear for 1 minute. Turn and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 2–3 minutes to seal the other side. Add the prawns to the pan. Cook for a minute or so until pink on one side, then turn. Cover and remove from the heat. Set aside for 4–5 minutes to finish cooking.
- Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat. Once bubbling, remove from the heat and mix in the cumin, paprika and remaining ras el hanout. Put the cooked noodles in a mixing bowl and pour over the butter mixture. Add the herbs, preserved lemon, and a good pinch of salt to the bowl and mix well.
- Flake the salmon flesh, discarding the skin, and add it to the noodles with the prawns. Mix everything together really well.
- Take a sheet of filo pastry and fold down one corner to make a triangle. Cut off the excess rectangle shape and save. Fold out the triangle into a square of pastry. Cut the rectangular off-cut into two pieces. Place one piece in the centre of the square. Brush the sides of the square with beaten egg.
- Place about 100g of the mix into the centre of the filo pastry. Top the mixture with the other piece of the off-cut pastry. Fold the sides tightly up and in to form a neat parcel. Flip the parcel over and place on the prepared baking tray. Brush with beaten egg. Repeat with remaining filo sheets and mixture. Bake in the hot oven for 20–25 minutes, or until golden and crispy. Serve folded side up.
Orange Blossom & Honey by John Gregory-Smith © John Gregory-Smith, 2017 published by Kyle Books – click here to buy a copy of the book
Ingredients
Makes 8 mini pastillas
For the tomato and garlic sauce
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoe
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
Sea salt
For the pastillas
2 salmon fillets, skin on
165g raw peeled king prawns
1 1/2 teaspoons ras el hanout
1 tablespoon olive oil
20g butter
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
100g vermicelli rice noodles,cooked, cooled and chopped
2 small handfuls of finely chopped coriander leaves
A small handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
Skin of 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped, seeds removed
8 filo pastry sheets
1 egg, beaten
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
