Traditional Greek spinach pie
April 19, 2020
: 6-8
: 15 min
: 50 min
: Easy
Greek spinach pie (Spanakopita) is a family favourite, blending a refreshing combination of herbs – dill, mint, parsley – with salty fetta and delicate ricotta, this recipe is perfect all year round. Serve with chilli jam or chutney.
Ingredients
- 260g baby spinach, washed
- 25g dill, fronds only, finely chopped
- 25g parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
- 20g mint, leaves only, finely chopped
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 leeks, finely chopped
- 40g Kefalotyri cheese (or other hard cheese, like pecorino), 1 cm dice
- 55g Greek fetta (we used 12-month aged fetta)
- 250g ricotta di bufala
- 1 teaspoon Greek oregano
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- Nutmeg, freshly grated
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten (reserving 1 tablespoon)
- 2 tablespoons high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 6 sheets phyllo pastry (we used Jus Rol)
- ¼ cup rapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon zaatar mix
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius (fan force).
- Step 2 Put the spinach, dill, parsley, mint, shallots, leeks and Kefalotyri in a large bowl. Crumble in the fetta and ricotta and sprinkle over the oregano, cinnamon, white pepper and nutmeg. (We don’t season with salt, as we find the cheese adds enough).
- Step 3 Add the beaten eggs and olive oil, and combine, taking care not to break up the cheese too much.
- Step 4 To assemble, lay out one sheet of phyllo pastry on a clean bench. Use a pastry brush to brush it with rapeseed oil lightly. Top with another sheet of phyllo and give it a quick brush with the rapeseed oil. Place a third of the mixture along the long edge of the phyllo and gently roll it into a cylinder.
- Step 5 In a non-stick pie dish (about 22cm diameter, with a removable base) or a dutch-oven, shape the cylinder into the start of a coil.
- Step 6 Repeat the process with the rest of the mixture and the phyllo sheets, coiling the cylinders in a snail shape until you have filled the pie dish.
- Step 7 Brush the top of the pie with the remaining rapeseed oil and 1 tablespoon of beaten egg, and sprinkle over the zaatar mix.
- Step 8 Cook for 45-50 minutes (or until golden and crispy). If the pie starts to brown too quickly cover with foil. Leave to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.
While waiting for the pie to cook watch Caroline McHugh’s TEDx talk on The art of being yourself (26:23). She poses some interesting questions about building a stable relationship with yourself and creating a life that allows you to capitalise on your natural gifts and talents.
