Monday 22 July 2013

Spinach and Feta Filo Pie

This is a dish that can go so far, I fed three VERY hungry diners AND still had plenty for leftovers! It's hearty, it's filling AND vegetarian!

Serves 3

Ingredients:
100g Pine Nuts
50g Cheddar Cheese
300 Feta Cheese
5 Whole Eggs
300g Spinach
A Pack of Filo Pastry
Cayenne Pepper
Oregano
Nutmeg
and Butter

Turn your oven on to 200c and but a large oven proof pan on a medium heat. Throw your pinenuts into this pan (Dry, so no oil) and keep tossing them now and again so they're evenly spread. In the meantime, get a mixing bowl out and, into this, crumble your feta, grate in 50g Cheddar, a good glug of olive oil and a large tablespoon of dried oregano. Dried Oregano, I find, is one of the few herbs you're better using as dry, rather than fresh, so I'd always recommend this.
Into this, crack your eggs and mix ALL together. If a little bit of shell falls in, no worries, if you use the larger part of the unbroken shell, this almost acts like a magnet, so use that! Once your pinenuts are toasted and golden brown, throw them into the egg mix and put the pan back on the heat with a big knob of butter and a drop of olive oil. Pour your spinach into the pan and keep agitated, stir it, give it some love. There will seem like a lot to start off with, but this wilts to a fraction of the size TRUST ME!
Keep an eye on the spinach, whilst on a flat surface you roll a layer of tin foil or greaseproof paper. On this, sprinkle a little flour and lay out your filo pastry. If you're using greaseproof paper it's probably best to add another glug of oil, scrunch this up, then lay it out flat again!
You kind of want to make a large flag style shape and make sure all of the edges are overlapping. Once the spinach is all teeny and wilted, pour this into the egg mix and grate in 1/2 a nutmeg (about a teaspoon). Stir this really well, make sure everything is evenly mixed.
Here comes the tricky part, I needed a helper at this point. Put your pan on the side (off of the heat), pick up your tin foil or greaseproof paper (with filo on top) and lower this into the pan. Gently nudge the pastry into the sides of the pan. NOW pour your egg mix into the filo, which is now in the pan. This is your basic pie shape!
Happily, the tough part is now over! Fold all of the edges back over, and pop back on the medium heat for a few minutes. As the pie is quite dense with filling this will help heat through the bottom of the pie. Nobody likes a soggy bottom!
After five minutes, grate on the last half of your nutmeg and pop this into your oven for around twenty minutes, it's best just to keep an eye on it though! Once this is beautiful golden and crisp, serve with a fresh salad, I'd recommend something sharp with a lot of punch...
Something like...


...cherry tomatoes, mixed olives and a lemon vinaigrette!
Thanks for reading guys, and if you didn't thanks for clicking on my blog and flicking through the photos! Your support has been incredible, over the past month I have learned so much and your feedback has been amazing! I'm learning too, so any tips or tricks, please leave in the comments box below.
And if there is anything that you'd like see you can let me know on Twitter and my BRAND NEW YouTube Channel!

I also owe a huge thanks to Natasha for this recipe! She's been a saint! xx
Hope to hear from you all soon!
Dan
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4 comments:

  1. Oh wow! that looks amazing! Might have to try that out sometime soon! x

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    1. Definitely worth a go, it's beautiful and I'd HUGELY recommend going with olives and tomatoes, really get the mediterranean vibe going on!

      Dan
      x

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