Have a pie

Take it from me, food poisoning is NOT fun! I got incredibly sick this week and spent 2 days lying on the couch groaning, shivering and gagging at food adverts on television! My life pretty much revolves around food, so not being able to eat properly really sucked! I felt much better this weekend and so I completely pigged out! I thought I would share this fantastic Jamie Oliver recipe I tried for spinach and feta pie. It was the first time I have ever used filo pastry (and baked a pie) so I was really proud of how it turned out – it was dead easy too! (There is a link in the recipe that will take you to a ‘how to’ video on the Jamie Oliver website). 

spinach & feta filo pie

ingredients:
• 100g pinenuts
• 5 eggs
• 300g feta cheese
• 50g Cheddar cheese
• dried oregano
• 1 lemon
• a knob of butter
• 400g prewashed baby spinach
• 1 x 270g pack of filo pastry
• cayenne pepper
• 1 whole nutmeg, for grating

Put the pinenuts into the dry ovenproof frying pan to toast, tossing occasionally. Keep an eye on them. Crack 5 eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble in 300g of feta. Grate in 50g of Cheddar. Add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, zest of 1 lemon and a lug of olive oil. Once the nuts are light golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well. 

Put the empty frying pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil and a knob of butter and pile in half of the spinach. Gently push and move it around and add more as it wilts down. Make sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom and when there’s room, start adding the rest, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, take the pastry out of the fridge. Lay a large sheet of greaseproof paper, approximately 50cm long, on the worktop, rub a little olive oil all over it, then scrunch it up and lay it out flat again. Arrange 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt & pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers. Don’t worry about any cracked bits. Remember to keep stirring the spinach.

Once the spinach is really nice and dense, take the pan off the heat. Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture and grate in ½ a nutmeg. Mix well. 

Carefully move the greaseproof paper and filo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out. Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will (see how to video). Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.