Spinach Pie

The inspiration for this comes from visiting my father in Greece and falling in love with Spanakopita. Spanakopita is a greek spinach pie or savoury pastry dish traditionally using filo pastry. I’m not fond of filo pastry at all. It dries out too easily and is quite fidley. So I came up with my own interpretation of the pie. A filling that is quick and easy to prepare and then a little decorative pastry work, paired with potato salad, it makes for the perfect summer dinner.

My son who is now three months old, had not taken a nap in over two months unless forced to do so (lots of morning and afternoon walks in the stroller which knocks him out). But last week I saw a major shift in his routine. Instead of waking up a little later in the morning, Alexander now rises between six thirty and seven am. We choose our outfits, get dressed, have a little tummy time and then head downstairs for a feed and lots of play time and good old-fashioned catch up. He is quite the conversationalist now, cooing away and singing along to his mummies crazy made up songs. But now, after his late morning feed, he falls asleep and naps right through to lunch time. At first this startled me as I thought there must be something wrong (yes I did panic and take him to the doctor), but now having gotten used to being a little hands less full, I try to prepare dinner for later, as well as getting all the laundry and cleaning done. Every so often poking our sleeping son to make sure he is still breathing, and also secretly wishing he would wake up so we can hang out together, reading stories, playing the drums (different pots and pans that I more so enjoy banging away on) and learning to sit up and roll.

Really this extra time has come in quite handy, after all it gives me time to blog too!

Anywhoo.. this recipe is something that has come to be a favourite of ours, with the great added bonus that it freezes well so I tend to make a double batch and freeze half for later in the week.

SPINACH PIE

• 375 g Ready rolled puff pastry sheet
• 140 g fresh spinach leaves
• 100 g Greek feta cheese
• 250 g ricotta
• 1/2 an onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried dill tips
• a good few grinds of fresh pepper
• pinch of salt (optional as the feta is already lending salt to the dish)
• 1 beaten egg to glaze
• 2 tsp sesame seeds to sprinkle on top

THE HOW

Pre heat the oven to 200 C fan oven.

Take the sheet of ready rolled puff pastry and slice in half (from the long side). Place the two rectangles on a baking try lined with non stick baking paper.

To each piece of pastry, lightly score into thirds lengthways. Then, cut the two edge pieces into strips only going up to the light score lines.

To assemble the filling, in a blender place all the ingredients (not the egg or sesame seeds) and whizz until smooth. Check the seasoning.

Once done, spoon the mixture into the centre of the pastry.

Wrap the strips around the spinach filling. Brush the top with the egg and sprinkle the sesame seeds on.

Pop into the oven for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 190 C. Leave to cook for a further 20 – 25 minutes. Do check on your pie towards the end to make sure it is browning nicely and not getting too dark.

Remove from the oven, cool for 10 minutes and serve with lots of salads.