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Smoked chicken and ham on a crisp filo base

Smoked chicken and ham on a crisp filo base

Ingredients

  • 12 sheets filo pastry
  • 100 grams butter, melted
  • 70 gram packet walnuts, toasted and ground
  • 2 bunches asparagus
  • 200 grams sugar snap peas or mangetouts
  • 200 grams green beans
  • 500 grams frozen broad beans
  • 6 spring onions
  • 3 oranges
  • 1 double breast of smoked chicken
  • 500 grams thinly sliced ham
  • ½ cup herbed vinaigrette
  • 300 grams creme fraiche

Method

  1. Take two sheets of filo pastry, brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with a little ground walnuts. Cut in half and arrange four pieces on top of a deep saucer or shallow dessert bowl, but place each piece on an angle to the last one. Repeat with the other sheets in bowls.
  2. Place all six dishes on a baking tray and bake at 190ºC for about 10 minutes until the pastry is well cooked and golden. Remove from the oven and stand for 2 minutes, before easing each filo tart off the dish. Set aside.

Filling

  1. Trim all the vegetables. Quickly blanch the asparagus, sugar snap peas or mangetouts and green beans in boiling salted water and refresh under running cold water. Pat dry on absorbent paper.
  2. Blanch the broad beans in boiling water for about 2 minutes, refresh under cold water and then peel, discarding the skins. Finely chop the spring onions.
  3. Grate the orange rind and set aside. Cut the white rind from the orange and discard. Segment the oranges or chop into even 1cm sized chunks.
  4. Remove the skin from the smoked chicken breast and cut the chicken into thin slices. Finely shred the ham.
  5. Toss the vegetables, orange rind and segments, ham and smoked chicken together with the herb vinaigrette.
  6. Pile the chicken and vegetables into the filo tart and serve with a spoonful of creme fraiche on the side.

Herbed vinaigrette

  1. Add ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, chives and thyme, to 1 cup basic vinaigrette.

Basic vinaigrette

  1. A basic vinaigrette is made from two-thirds good quality virgin olive oil and one third wine vinegar, a squeeze of lemon juice, a good dollop of your favourite mustard, a pinch each of sugar, salt and pepper. Blend well and add chopped herbs if wished.

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