Blackcurrants are such a special little gem of a fruit, with an incredible amount of flavour packed into a tiny berry.
If you’ve only ever had blackcurrants in cordials or jam, it’s time to get your hands on some fresh ones. Whether you buy them from the greengrocer or happen to have a bush in the garden, they’re one of those ingredients that feel very British and very seasonal.
These feta and blackcurrant filo pies are a perfect example of how brilliantly blackcurrants work in savoury cooking. The fruit is cooked down into a jammy, sharp sauce, which sits on top of salty feta and is wrapped up in crisp, buttery filo pastry.
The result? Sweet, sharp, salty, crunchy and creamy all at once!
And despite sounding a little fancy, these pies are actually very easy to make. With shop-bought filo pastry and just a handful of ingredients, they’re ready in around 40 minutes, making them a lovely option for an easy dinner or lunch.
If you enjoy cooking with filo pastry, you might also like my
– Feta, Olive and Chilli Filo Parcels
– Spinach and Feta Filo Pie
– Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Filo Pie
Filo pastry really is one of those magical ingredients that can make simple fillings feel incredibly special.
Why Blackcurrants Work So Well With Feta
It might sound like an unusual combination at first, but blackcurrants and feta actually work beautifully together.
Blackcurrants are naturally sharp and slightly tannic, which makes them perfect for cutting through rich ingredients. When cooked down with a little sugar they become thick and jammy, while still keeping that signature tang.
Feta, meanwhile, is salty, creamy and crumbly.
Put the two together and you get a flavour combination that hits all the right notes:
• sweetness
• acidity
• saltiness
• richness
Add crisp filo pastry and a drizzle of hot honey and you have something that feels a little bit special without requiring much effort at all!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Blackcurrants – Fresh blackcurrants work best here. Their flavour is intense and beautifully sharp. If blackcurrants are out of season, frozen ones work perfectly well – just cook them for a minute or two longer until they break down into that lovely jammy consistency.
- Sugar – A little sugar balances the tartness of the fruit. Caster sugar dissolves quickly, but light brown sugar works nicely too and adds a slight caramel note.
- Filo Pastry – Of all the pastries, filo is the one I strongly recommend buying rather than making. It’s wonderfully thin and crisp, but making it from scratch is quite a faff. Shop-bought filo works brilliantly and makes this recipe quick and easy.
- Feta – Feta provides the salty, creamy base of the pie. If you can find feta in 200g blocks, that’s perfect for making two equal parcels.
- Butter – Melted butter is brushed between the layers of filo to create those irresistible crisp golden sheets once baked. You can also use olive oil if you prefer.
- Hot Honey – A drizzle of hot honey over the finished pies brings everything together beautifully. The gentle heat works wonderfully with the salty feta and sharp fruit. You can buy hot honey easily in most supermarkets now, or make your own by warming honey with a little chilli.
Why Filo Pastry Is Perfect For Easy Weeknight Cooking
Filo pastry is one of my favourite ingredients for quick dinners.
Because it’s so thin, it cooks incredibly quickly in the oven, becoming light, crisp and beautifully golden.
Unlike shortcrust or puff pastry, it doesn’t require long baking times or blind baking. Instead, you simply wrap it around your filling, brush it with butter and pop it in the oven.
That makes recipes like this ideal for busy evenings when you want something that feels a little bit special without spending hours in the kitchen.
Tips For Working With Filo Pastry
Filo pastry can look a little intimidating at first, but it’s actually very straightforward once you know a few tricks.
- Keep it covered – Filo dries out quickly. Keep unused sheets covered with a slightly damp tea towel while you work.
- Don’t worry about perfection – Filo pastry is very forgiving. Even if it tears slightly, once it’s layered and baked it will still turn wonderfully crisp.
- Brush generously with butter – The butter is what creates those delicious flaky layers, so don’t be shy when brushing it over the pastry.
- Work fairly quickly – Because filo is so thin, it’s best to assemble the parcels without leaving the pastry exposed for too long.
When To Serve These Feta and Blackcurrant Filo Pies
These pies are wonderfully versatile.
They work beautifully as:
• a light dinner with a crisp green salad
• a relaxed summer lunch
• part of a picnic spread
• a starter for a dinner party
Because they’re wrapped individually, they’re also easy to serve and share.
And if you happen to have a blackcurrant bush in the garden, they’re a fantastic seasonal recipe to make during summer when the fruit is at its best.
Can You Make Them Ahead?
Yes – these pies are very easy to prepare in advance.
You can assemble the parcels earlier in the day, keep them in the fridge and bake them when you’re ready to eat. You can also make them up to the point where you would normally bake them and freeze them. You can bake them straight from frozen, for an extra 10-15 minutes.
They’re best served warm, when the pastry is crisp and the feta is slightly soft inside.
Leftovers can be reheated in the oven to crisp the pastry up again.
Feta and Blackcurrant Filo Pies
Equipment
- baking tray
- Pastry brush
- Sharp knife
Ingredients
- 200 grams blackcurrants
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 270 grams filo pastry
- 400 grams feta ideally 2 x 200g blocks or cut into 2 equal portions
- 20 grams butter melted
- 2 teaspoons hot honey
Instructions
- Remove any stalks from the blackcurrants and place in a saucepan with 50 ml water. Put on a medium heat for 10 minutes until they are jammy. Add the sugar, stir, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Lay the filo pastry sheets out on a work surface. Put one block of feta in the centre of one sheet. Spoon half of the blackcurrant mix over the top of the feta. Brush around the feta with the butter, then fold like a parcel around the feta. Take another sheet of pastry and brush all over with butter, then fold this around the feta like a parcel. Repeat with another sheet of feta.
- Do the same with the other piece of feta. You should now have two parcels. Place them on a baking tray and brush with more butter. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Remove from the oven, place on a plate and drizzle over the hot honey. Enjoy warm.
The point about frozen blackcurrants needing an extra minute or two to break down is useful, since that jammy texture really matters for the filling. One practical tweak: after cooking the fruit with the sugar, let it cool completely before spooning it over the feta, otherwise the steam will soften the filo from underneath and you lose that crispness. Also worth draining any thin syrup off first, so the parcels don’t turn soggy in the oven.