Wednesday 30 May 2012

Spanakopita (spinach and feta pies) for the whole family

Spanakopita is one of my favourite foods in the world.  Love it, love it, love it.  I'd never considered feeding it to my son though until recently.  I mean, why not?  Surely it's the ideal finger food / hidden vegetable dish.

This recipe is my own take on spanakopita, purists will notice some inaccuracies but it contains the key elements of spinach and feta cheese which is vital.



Spanakopita - makes 7 triangles - suitable for toddlers, baby led weaners and older babies on finger foods and adults

Ingredients

200g Frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
200g Feta cheese
30g Grated vintage / Extra Strong (Sharp) cheddar
1/2 an onion, chopped finely
2 eggs
A few gratings of nutmegs
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
Filo (fillo / phylo) pastry - 7 sheets (freeze the rest if there's more)
Olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F.

Fry the onion gently in a tsp of olive oil until softened.  Put into a bowl to cool.

Drain the spinach, squeeze it through a sieve to remove as much water as you can.

Crumble the feta and grate the cheddar.  Add to the onions with the spinach, eggs, oregano and nutmeg.  Mix together.



Lay one filo sheet out and brush half of it lengthways lightly with oil.  Wrap the remaining sheets in a damp clean teatowel.  They will crack and dry out very quickly otherwise.



Fold it in half so it has one very long side and one short.  Brush the surface with oil again.



Put 1 tbsp at the end and fold over one corner.  Fold the triangle that created back up the length of the pastry.


Fold that back along the diagonal and continue this process until you've used up all of the pastry.

Brush the top with oil.


Bake for 15-20 minutes until browned and crisp.



Serve ideally warm rather than hot, the flavour is better that way.  I have a sneaking love of these cold from the fridge the next day (so I've not tried freezing any uncooked.)

I've linked this up to a linky party here.



11 comments:

  1. Yummy...one of my favourites too.

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  2. Yes this is a fave of mine too! I bet the cheddar is good! Thanks for linking up!

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    1. No problem. Yeah, the cheddar helps the overall balance of flavours but it's also easily available as a vegetarian version too.

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  3. I had to read this a few times to realise how to say it. I know my kids would love this so I reckon it will make my table very soon.

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    1. Ha ha! Don't worry! Although calling it Spanakopita rather than spinach and feta pies might help people try it. (Some people are very unfairly anti-spinach!)

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  4. A nice twist on it. I love Spanakopita but know the girls wouldn't eat a 'true' version. Will give this a try :) xxx

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    1. It's cheesier than a proper version which might go down better. Good luck!

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  5. Being maried to a Greek I made this one too, I often swap 1/3 of the feta for cottae cheese for a slightly lighter pie

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    1. Yes, my version has more cheese in anyway which I like and also makes it more kid friendly. I have to admit I like all the feta though!

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  6. This looks yum. I found you via At Home with Mrs M. Have a lovely week.

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