Recipe: Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie)

The Spanakopita, also known as the Greek spinach pie, is a savoury pastry with its origins in Greece. The pie, made with flaky filo pastry, is traditionally filled with spinach, leeks, spring onions, feta and a variety of other herbs and spices.

Ingredients

15ml (1 tbsp) butter + 80g, melted (to brush)
15ml (1 tbsp) avocado oil
4 spring onions, chopped
2 leeks, washed and chopped
500g spinach, washed and roughly chopped
pinch ground nutmeg
1 handful fresh dill
1 handful fresh parsley
100g Parmesan, grated
150g feta, crumbled
1,25ml (¼ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
6 filo pastry sheets
30ml (2 tbsp) sesame seeds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

2. For the filling, melt 15ml (1 tbsp) butter and the avocado oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the spring onions and leeks, and fry until soft, 5 – 10 minutes.

3. Add the spinach and continue frying, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg, dill, fresh parsley, Parmesan, feta and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine. Remove from heat and allow the spinach mixture to cool down completely.

4. Grease a 27cm x 15cm (5cm deep) baking dish. Place 1 filo pastry sheet on a clean surface, brush with the melted butter and cover the remaining pastry with a slightly damp kitchen towel, so as to not dry out.

5. Lay the brushed pastry sheet in the baking dish, with a slight overhang. Place another sheet on the clean surface, brush with the melted butter and lay it on top of the sheet in the dish. Repeat the process with 2 more sheets.

6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the spinach-cheese mixture into the pastry-lined dish, discarding any excess liquid. Fold the overhang over the filling, tucking the pastry in to seal in the filling.

7. Brush with melted butter, then layer the remaining 2 sheets over the top, brushing each one and lightly scrunching the sheets.

8. Sprinkle sesame seeds over and bake in the preheated oven, 20 minutes or until crunchy and golden brown.

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