Spinach and Feta Pie | Serves 4
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a splash of olive oil
800g baby spinach leaves, rinsed
3 tbsp pine nuts
½ cup dried apricots, finely chopped
4 rounds feta cheese, broken up into smallish chunks
¾ cup grated mature cheddar
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried origanum
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 packet filo pastry, thawed if frozen
100 g melted butter
1/3 cup sesame seeds
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil, on a medium heat, until soft and translucent.
Steam the spinach in batches until just wilted. Drain in a colander, and roughly chop.
Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat until browned. Watch the pan; pine nuts burn very easily.
Combine the onion, garlic, spinach, apricots, feta, cheddar, cumin, origanum, pine nuts and eggs. Season to taste and mix together.
Unroll the filo pastry on a work surface. Cover it with a damp tea towel so that it does not dry out.
Butter a pie dish, large enough to contain the mixture, and lay the filo sheets in it so that the sides hang over the edge of the dish. Brush each sheet with the melted butter before adding a new one. Repeat this with about 6 sheets. Save 4 sheets for the top.
Spoon the mixture into the pie dish and then overlap the overhanging filo sheets towards the middle of the dish, using the left over sheets in between to cover the top. Remember to brush each sheet with the melted butter as you go along. It is absolutely fine if the top is quite “expressive” with crumpled filo!
Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Very nice served with some tsatsiki.
|