Tomato, feta, almond and date baklava

Ingredients to serve 6

Tomato, feta, almond and date baklava (Jonathan Gregson)

100ml olive oil
5 Spanish onions, halved and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pinch of granulated sugar
A bunch of dill, finely chopped (or 3 teaspoons dried)
12 plum tomatoes, skinned and chopped (reserve half the juice)
5 teaspoons tomato purée
1 packet filo pastry (9 sheets)
150g melted butter
60g blanched almonds, whizzed to a crumble
100g Medjool dates, stoned and finely sliced
250g feta cheese, crumbled
6 tablespoons clear honey

Baklava is usually sweet, but I always like to think outside the box, and I find that once I do this, a whole new culinary world opens up before me. This recipe makes a wonderful-tasting dish, served hot or cold.Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Heat the olive oil in a large-bottomed pan. Gently fry the onions over a low heat, add the garlic, cinnamon and sugar and increase the heat.

Fry for about 6 minutes, until caramelised. Add the dill, tomatoes and half of their juices and the tomato purée and cook for a further 5 minutes, until reduced.

Unfold the pastry and cut in half; keep it covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush a baking tray (approximately 30cm x 20cm) with melted butter, line the tin with a sheet of filo, brush with butter and repeat until you have a 3-layer thickness.

Spread half the onion mixture over the pastry, top with half the almonds, the dates and half the feta. Sandwich 3 layers of filo together, brushing each with melted butter and place on top of the onion and feta mix.

Top with the remaining onions, almonds and feta and again top with a 3-layer thickness of filo. Lightly score the top, cutting diamonds (see photograph above) or squares, brush with butter and splash with a little water.

Place on a baking tray and cook for 35–40 minutes until golden. Leave to cool a little before serving, then drizzle each portion with honey.

Taken from 'The Modern Vegetarian' by Maria Elia (Kyle Books, £14.99).