Beef & Spinach Filo Pies - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, small and finely diced
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
5 tablespoons coriander, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 raisins
600 g mincemeat, beef
1 cup spinach leaves, about 2 handfuls
1 cup tomatoes, canned and chopped
16 sheets phyllo pastry
200 ml yoghurt, plain and unsweetened
handful mint

Preparation

Heat the oil in a frying pan over moderate heat and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of the coriander, the pine nuts and raisins. Fry gently, without browning, for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft.
Add the mince, increase the heat and fry, breaking the mince up as it heats. Once the mince is cooked through and crumbly, add the spinach and tomatoes, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and cool.
Preheat the oven to 180\u00b0C. Put 2 sheets of filo on top of each other on a clean surface. Place one-eighth of the mince mixture at one end.
Fold the sides inwards and roll up like a large spring roll. Put on an oven tray with the end of the rolled-up pastry underneath.
Repeat for the other 7, placing them side by side on the tray. Brush the pastry lightly with oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until well browned.
Meanwhile, put a quarter of the yoghurt in a small food processor and add the mint and the remaining coriander. Process until the herbs are well chopped.
Stir this mixture into the remaining yoghurt, taste and season. Serve the pies with the yoghurt on the side.