Spanakopita
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
Here’s my favourite recipe for the famous Greek spinach and fetta pie Spanakopita – simple and delicious! Make sure you take the the filo pastry out of the fridge 1 – 2 hours before you intend to use it so that it’s at room temperature and that you have all the filling ingredients ready to go before you start working with it. Cover it with a damp tea towel – or work quickly – to avoid it drying out.
Ingredients
- filo pastry 1 x 375 packet
- fresh spinach 2 large bunches, washed and dried (or 1 1/2 bunches silverbeet or Swiss Chard)
- green onions (shallots) 1 bunch, washed and chopped
- firm fetta cheese 250g, crumbled
- tasty cheddar cheese 1 cup, grated
- free range or organic eggs 6
- salt and freshly cracked pepper
- olive oil or vegetable oil 1/2 – 3/4 cup
- butter approx 60g, melted (or more, if needed)
- sesame seeds for sprinkling over top
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Remove stalks from spinach or silverbeet and tear or chop leaves into pieces. Place in a medium-large bowl with the chopped shallots and cheeses . In a separate bowl, beat eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the spinach mixture. Mix well until combined. Layer half the filo pastry in a baking tray, brushing every sheet with some oil and melted butter. Place the spinach mixture on top of the layered pastry and fold in any overhanging ends. Repeat the layering process with the remaining filo pastry, tucking in the top sheets to neaten off. Brush the top with melted butter, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in preheated oven for around 1 hour 15 minutes or until golden brown.