Our Favourite Spinach and Cheese Pie
This is one of the first dishes I taught myself to cook and it’s special to me because it’s my mum’s favourite. Whenever I offer to cook at my mum’s place she always ask for it. It’s easy to make and produces the most delicious golden, crunchy crust and flavoursome filling. Spinach and kale are packed with iron too so it’s a great one for kids. You can just as easily use this filling to make triangles if you wish. I guarantee there won’t be any leftovers with this one.
Please see Notes on how to share this with babies and toddlers.
INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbs olive oil
375g filo pastry, fresh or thawed
500g spinach, chopped
6 kale leaves, chopped
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 shallots, finely sliced
250g feta
150g ricotta
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 Tbs breadcrumbs
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
100g butter, melted
2 Tbs sesame seeds
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a 20cm x 30cm baking dish or tray with olive oil. Don’t worry if you’re tray is smaller, it just means that your filling will be a bit thicker.
Place the filo sheets on a work surface and cover with a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
Steam the kale and spinach leaves in bunches until they wilt and set aside in a colander to drain and cool. Once it’s cool, squeeze any excess water and chop into smaller pieces. This step prevents the crust from getting soggy.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the onion on medium heat until soft and lightly golden, then set aside to cool. Place the feta in a large bowl and rub it between your fingers to create a coarse crumb. Add the onion, garlic, shallots, ricotta, nutmeg, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, mint and parsley and mix well. I like to do this with my hands to get a nice even texture without over mixing. Add the spinach, kale and eggs and mix again until well combined.
Using a sharp knife, halve the sheets of filo pastry. Place two sheets on a work surface and brush the top one with melted butter. Top with another two sheets of filo and again brush with butter, continuing until around half of the filo pastry has been used. Don’t worry if some tear as this won’t matter once it’s cooked. Now place the buttered sheets of filo into the tray, gently pressing it into the corners. Spoon the spinach and cheese mixture over the filo and spread it out evenly.
Butter the remaining filo two sheets at a time and place them on top. Tuck in any over hanging pastry, then brush the top with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for around 45 minutes until the pastry is golden and crisp. If the pastry is browning too quickly, turn the heat down to 160 degrees and continue cooking for the remaining time. Allow the pie to cool for 10 minutes before serving with freshly cut wedges of lemon. The pie makes the most satisfying crunch sound when it’s cut so it’s worth doing this in front of your guests!
Lemon wedges, to serve
Notes:
As this contains dairy and egg whites, I would introduce it to baby after 12 months of age, while it’s good to go as it is for toddlers. My son Archie loves the crispy pastry!