Spanakopita
A rich pastry with a rich heritage, stuffed with winter greens, herbs and feta cheese
This incredible spanakopita recipe will make the most of winter greens that are currently growing ferociously! If you haven't tried spanakopita before, you're in for a treat – spanakopita is a delicious savoury Greek pie made of perfectly crispy layers of filo dough and a comforting filling of spinach and feta cheese.
What you'll need:
- 1 brown onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 large bunch spinach (or silverbeet/chard/cavallo nero), stemmed, washed, dried and chopped
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped mint
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped dill
- freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 125g fetta cheese
- 125g fresh ricotta
- 60g freshly grated kasseri, pecorino or romano cheese
- 120g unsalted butter, melted
- 10 sheets filo pastry
How to put it together:
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Sauté onion in oil until softened. Add spring onion, spinach, herbs and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until spinach is soft and there is no liquid in the pan. Tip into a colander resting over a plate to cool. Beat eggs in a large bowl, then add cheeses and cooled spinach mixture.
- Select a rectangular metal baking dish. It should be a bit smaller than half a sheet of filo. Brush with a little melted butter. Cut pastry sheets in half and, brushing each sheet with melted butter, settle 10 pastry layers in the dish, pressing pastry up sides. Spoon in spinach mixture and settle a further 10 buttered sheets over spinach, tucking any overlap down the sides.
- Score top of pie into squares, being careful not to cut through the bottom. Bake for 1 hour until golden and serve warm or cold. Explore more recipes ...