Week 3 Tuesday Night - Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

This is a super easy dish to make and a bit of a favourite in our family.  Sometimes, I omit the spinach and use silverbeet instead (particularly if I have an abundance of silverbeet in the garden!)  I love the texture of the filo pastry with the lovely velvet filling.  Plus I use dill in this recipe - it is my most favourite herb and I cannot get enough of it.  My kids say that it is like the equivalent to catnip for me!

We serve this with a green salad and it's a great vegetarian dish for a family.  But if you're going for the ultimate Greek experience...try it with some lamb chops seasoned with lemon juice and lemon rind!

SPANAKOPITA (GREEK SPINACH PIE)

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5 kg spinach (or silverbeet)
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup dill
250g goat milk feta, crumbled
3/4 cup cream
4 eggs, whisked
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
14 sheets filo pastry
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sesame seeds

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 190°C.
2. Heat oil in frying pan and sauté onion until softened.
3. Wash spinach/silverbeet and chop leaves roughly.  Add to frying pan and cook until wilted.  Drain and cool.
4. In a large bowl, place parsley, dill, feta, cream, eggs, pepper, salt and nutmeg and whisk gently.  Add spinach/silverbeet and onion and mix through with a spoon.
5. Brush a metal pie tin with melted butter.   Line tin with 8 layers of filo, brushing butter onto each layer.  Press each layer down.
6. Place egg mixture into tin and brush additional six sheets of filo with butter and scrunch up.  Then place on top of pie.  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
7. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes until filo is golden.