Christmas - the time for Apple and Cinnamon (amongst other delicious ingredients!) Milopites, or apple filled rolls.

It may not be well documented here but my love of things apple and cinnamon is well known, and this leads to the devouring of apple pie and apple crumble and apple strudel and anything else vaguely 'appley' on a regular basis. Whilst the apple itself may not be an issue, pastry can be and so I seek a way of getting the apple hit without the calorific nature of the pastry. I hate to sound like a momentous bore; it's Christmas after all and watching the weight is not what most of us do at this time, but in the back of my mind is January and how I will be trying desperately to transform myself into some sort of alluring, svelte temptress for the umpteenth time. This year I will succeed!!!!!!!!

Anyway, while rifling through the extraordinary 'Vefa's Kitchen' for inspiration I happened upon and Milopites, or Apple Filled Rolls and I decided to try them out. I had filo pastry lurking (once again) at the back of the fridge, I had some sad looking Braeburns in the fruit bowl in need of some va va voom so I set to work. I'm not convinced there is anything better than the smell of apple and cinnamon filling the kitchen, so this was always going to work for me. I hope it works for you too.

Milopites, or Apple Filled Rolls, adapted from Vefa's Kitchen, by Vefa Alexandriou.

Ingredients:

1/4 pint olive oil, melted clarified butter or a mixture of both.

8oz caster sugar

4 tbsp fine breadcrumbs

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling

A pinch of grated nutmeg

A pinch of ground cloves (optional)

2 1/4lb tart apples, peeled and coarsely grated

4oz coarsely chopped nuts. I used hazelnuts

3oz raisins (optional)

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. (I also put the lemon rind in)

4 tbsp melted butter

A pack of filo pastry

Icing sugar, for sprinkling.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350F and brush a baking tray with melted butter, or oil, or mixture of both.

Combine the sugar, breadcrumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves in a small bowl. Then combine the apples, nuts and raisins and toss in the lemon juice (though for ease I just threw everything into my food processor bowl once I had grated the apples and then stirred the ingredients together with a spoon).

Pour the melted butter over the apple mixture, combine, taste and adjust sweetness, spicing to your preference and then set aside.

Brush the sheets of filo with the oil/butter/mixture.

Place 3 or 4 tablespoons of the mixture along the long length of the filo, then roll the filo and filling up so that it looks like a snake. Repeat.

Place the rolls next to each other on the baking tray or else coil around one another.

Brush the remaining oil/butter/mixture onto and sprinkle with icing sugar (though I used caster to be honest).

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting into pieces and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and icing sugar just before serving.

The addition of just a little cream does not hurt in my opinion.