Travel To Greece With This Easy Spanakopita Recipe
In this week’s Chefs Series, we’re flying to Greece to enjoy a taste of summer with this easy spanakopita recipe, brought to us by The Athenian.
Having launched as a street food stall back in 2014 by Tim Vasilakis, The Athenian has since become one of the UK’s favourite small-chains serving up an award-winning menu that champions Greek ingredients and traditional cooking techniques. Now with locations across London and further afield, the Greek restaurant group has launched its first cookbook, East Like A Greek. Boasting over 60 recipes, their talented team has shared recipes for its customer favourites and a few other Greek favourites, including this delicious spanakopita recipe.
Spanakopita recipe from The Athenian
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cook: 45-50 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 1.5kg/3lb spinach, washed and trimmed
- 2 bunches of spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed1 small bunch of dill, finely chopped
- 300g feta crumbled
- 100g grated Kefalotyri or Graviera cheese
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 medium free-range eggs, beaten
- 300g (or 12 sheets) filo pastry
- Freshly grated black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190°C. Lightly brush a deep 30x20cm/12×8 in an ovenproof dish or baking pan with olive oil.
- Put the damp spinach leaves into a large saucepan. Cover with a lid and cook over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan a few times, until the spinach wilts.Drain in a colander, pressing down hard with a small plate or saucer to extract all theexcess water. Put the strained spinach between 2 large pieces of kitchen paper(paper towels) and press down lightly. When cool, chop coarsely.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan (skillet) and cook the spring onions and garlic for 4-5minutes, or until tender. Remove and cool.
- Put the spinach, spring onions, garlic, dill and cheeses in a bowl. Stir in the lemon zest, nutmeg and beaten eggs. Season with pepper–don’t add any salt as the feta is salty.
- Place a sheet of filo pastry in the oiled dish and brush lightly with olive oil. Add 5more sheets, brushing in between in the same way, so you end up with six layers.
- Spread the spinach mixture over the pastry and level the top. Cover with a sheet of filo pastry, brushing it lightly with oil, and then add the remaining 5 sheets in the same way.
- Brush the top of the pie with oil, then bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven and stand for a few minutes before cutting into squares or slices. Serve lukewarm or cold.
TIP: While you assemble the pie, make sure you cover the pack of filo pastry with a clean damp cloth to prevent it drying out and cracking.
Recipe courtesy of The Athenian
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