These days it’s hard to go past any recipe by famed chef Yotam Ottolenghi! This is my take on spanakopita as a pie inspired by his version.  

You can really play around with the herbs and greens based on what you have available. For me it’s dill that sits centre stage. If you can’t get fresh dill (it does have a short season) just use dried, however as with everything if you can get it, fresh is always best!

The cheese is something else that you have a fair bit of leeway with, mix it up with your favourite varieties and see where you get to. For something a really fancy you could even crumble a bit of blue cheese over the top....

In my recipe I’ve garnished with dukkah and added preserved lemon to the herb mixture (a must in my kitchen!).

INGREDIENTS

70ml olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and diced

1 bunch silverbeet, stems and leaves thinly shredded and kept separate

150g celery, thinly sliced

50g spring onion, chopped

1 bunch rocket leaves

1 bunch parsley, chopped

30g mint, chopped (optional)

1 bunch dill, chopped

120g ricotta, crumbled

120g labelle, crumbled 

60g feta, crumbled

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 free-range eggs

⅓ tsp salt

½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

250g filo pastry

2 tbsp dukkah

METHOD 

This pie comes together pretty quickly.

Heat the oven to 180C. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan, add the onions and sauté until brown. Add the finely chopped silverbeet stems and celery and cook until soft. Now add the silverbeet leaves, spring onion, rocket and herbs, cook until they are all wilted then strain in a colander and leave to cool. Once cool, squeeze out as much liquid as you can, transfer to a bowl and mix in the cheeses, zest, eggs, salt, pepper and sugar.

Below is the pastry detail. If you run out of time or simply forgot to buy filo you can just cook the mixture up like a frittata.

Otherwise continue, filo is always worth the effort!

Lay out a sheet of filo and brush it with olive oil. Cover with another sheet and repeat until you have five layers of filo brushed with oil and covering an area large enough to line the sides and base of a 22cm pie dish, with extra overhanging the edges. Line the dish with filo, fill with the herb mix and fold the excess pastry over the edges of the filling, trimming to create a 2cm border.

Make another five-layer filo piece as before and place on top and trim the edges so it just covers the filling. Brush with more oil, sprinkle with dukkah and bake for 40 minutes, until the filo turns golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy and don’t forget to share your creations in our Facebook group and/or tag #YFC&ME