Spanakopita (Spinach, Herb, and Feta Pie) Recipe

Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound 2 ounces|500 grams green chard
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 fat garlic clove, minced
3 green onions, finely sliced (about 2 ½ ounces|70 grams)
2 pounds 2 ounces|1 kg fresh or frozen spinach, roughly chopped
2 ½ cups|50 grams parsley, roughly chopped
1 ¼ cups|25 grams dill, roughly chopped
1 ¼ cups|25 grams mint leaves, roughly chopped
finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 ⅓ cup|200 grams feta cheese, crumbled
about ¼ cup|60ml olive oil
12 filo pastry sheets
salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Separate the chard leaves from the stalks. Take half the stalks and chop them into small pieces (keep the remainder for soup).
2. Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and add the chard stalks, garlic, green onions, and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir well, cover the pan, lower the heat, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the stalks have softened. Add the chard leaves and cook for another 5 minutes with the lid on until they wilt, stirring occasionally.
3. Now add the spinach and herbs and cook for a couple of minutes until they wilt too. (If you can’t fit them all in the same pan, you can cook them separately.) Transfer all the greens to a colander and let them cool for 10 minutes.
4. Heat the oven to 400°F|200°C.
5. Using your hands, squeeze as much liquid as you can from the greens and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the lemon zest, eggs, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt, and a generous grind of black pepper. Finally, lightly fold in the feta.
6. Brush a 9 x 13-inch/23 x 33-cm roasting pan with olive oil. Lay out a sheet of filo on a work surface and brush it with oil too. Cover with another sheet of filo and repeat until you have 6 layers of filo brushed with oil and covering an area large enough to line the sides and bottom of your roasting pan, with extra overhanging the edges.
7. Line the dish with the oiled filo, fill it with the greens, and fold the excess pastry over the edges of the filling, trimming to create a ¾-inch/2-cm border. Make another 6-layer filo piece as before and place on top. Scrunch up the pastry a little to create a wavy, uneven top and trim the edges so it just covers the filling.
8. Brush with more olive oil and bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This recipe has been reprinted with permission of the author from Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus.

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