Spanakopita - Greek Spinach Pie

This is a family staple in our house. A gorgeous vegetarian meal and hit of iron and all the wonderful benefits of spinach. You could use two packets of frozen spinach to make this even quicker as the only time consuming part is prepping and wilting the spinach really - make sure you drain the liquid in a sieve beforehand however.

A great vegie hit for the kids, and adults.

I sometimes substitute the filo for puff pastry parcels and make sausage roll shapes when I have it as they adore that even more - follow the instructions and bake 200°C for min 20 minutes having brushed the top with some beaten egg.

Pictured: Greek Spinach and Cheese Parcels

3 - 4  bunches of your favourite dark leafy green, must include at least 2 English spinach or 2 large bunches silver beet,or even 2 packets baby spinach, and we must include 1 bunch kale now as it seems to make the dish so much better - white stems removed, coarsely shredded, washed with water clinging to the leaves – wash well as sometimes there is a lot of dirt

4 tablespoon light olive oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

250g Greek feta packet, crumbled

200g tub ricotta

finely chopped fresh dill (2tbsp) or dried dill (1tbsp)

3 - 4 eggs, 1 egg per green, leafy bunch basically

packet filo pastry

Ligh olive oil for brushing over filo – approx. ½ cup or more, or melted butter - or for a quicker method use a spray oil.

Melted butter for the top of the pie(s) or preferably an egg wash (1/2 a beaten egg)

Grated parmesan, sesame seeds and poppy seeds for the top of pie(s) – approx. 2 Tbsp each

Preheat oven to 190°C. 

You can make either one large pie or lots of little parcels or snails - see below.

Place the spinach/silver beet, then kale in batches, with a splash of the oil, into a saucepan or large fry pan and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until it just wilts, season well as you go. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool. Repeat with remaining.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. - add onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft.

Once spinach/silver beet is cool enough to handle, squeeze out majority of the excess liquid, the kale will not need this step. 

In a large bowl, combine spinach/silver beet and kale, onion, and cheeses first to combine, then add the eggs. Mix thoroughly. THe greens should be well seasoned when they were wilted so no need for more to note.

Place filo sheets on a clean work surface. Cover with a clean tea towel, then a damp tea towel (this will prevent it drying out). Otherwise, work quickly!

If making one large pie – cover a lasagne-sized dish with oil or butter. Brush 1 filo sheet with oil/butter. Top with another sheet and brush again. Top with another sheet, brush again etc. Repeat with 8 or so filo leaves and lay this into a lasagne dish, overlapping to reach each side and up the sides of the dish. You will repeat this for the top of the pie. Spoon silver-beet mixture into the dish and smooth the surface. Top with remaining filo stack. Fold edges over and press down firmly to enclose filling. You can use a small sharp knife to score the top of the filo diagonally or leave it as it is. Brush with remaining oil/butter or perfrably an egg wash to brown nicely and golden. Grate over some parmesan and sprinkle on top some sesame or poppy seeds.  Bake in preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutesto set and cool a little. Cut into slices to serve.

For small individual sausage roll shapes - brush half a sheet with oil/butter and fold in half, brush the top of the half, repeat this with another sheet and place on top of each other – so you have 4 layers. Place a dollop of filling in the middle, approx. ½ cup, wrap the sides up and brush any parts to be folded as you go, to stick the sides together. 

For a snail – make a stack of two sheets with oil/butter brushed between, lay a thin line of filling along the long edge leaving a few cms around it from the sides and the bottom, roll up like a long cigar, tuck in the ends near the end of rolling, brush final bit to seal, and roll up like a snail.

Sprinkle with oil/butter parmesan and seeds. These will cook in 25 minutes or so.

Kids adore rolling their own little snails or parcels, so this is a good one for kids in the kitchen, and a good way to get them eating spinach!

Makes 1 pie or 10 -12 parcels depending on size

Pictured: Spanakopita - Greek Spinach Pie