Maria’s Spanakopita (V) from Drizzle
“‘Guys, have you eaten?’ These are words we regularly hear on our visits to Maria Amargiotaki, our family friend and first producer in Crete. It doesn’t matter what the response is because food is probably already in the works. One day, although we were all working, including her, she casually whipped up one of my favourite Greek dishes. Maria is an expert with spanakopita: I’ve watched her gracefully layer it together while children create chaos around her and too many of us are crowded into her kitchen. The secret to making this iconic Greek dish is layers and layers of filo pastry plus lashings of EVOO. This light, flaky and crunchy source of goodness could be the perfect replacement for your favourite hearty winter pies. Just get ready to layer up!” Sarah Fulton Vachon, author of Drizzle
Serves 4-6
6–8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Small bunch of dill, chopped
800g (1lb 12oz) spinach, washed and roughly chopped
12 large sheets of filo pastry (packets vary, so check the contents)
200g (7oz) feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO in a large saute pan or saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often until it starts to soften.
Add the spring onions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more, then add the chopped dill and cook for another minute. Finally, add the spinach, lower the heat and cook for 10–15 minutes, until it has softened and wilted. (There is no need to add water as the drops clinging to the spinach are enough.)
Tip the spinach into a sieve over a bowl and press down on the mixture with the back of a spoon to remove excess oil and water. Leave to cool for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/350°F/Gas mark 4). Brush the inside of a 33 x 25cm (13 x 10in) baking tin with EVOO.
Carefully unroll the filo pastry sheets. Brush the first sheet with EVOO, then lay it in the prepared tin, covering the base and sides and allowing the excess pastry to drape over the sides. Brush the next sheet of filo with EVOO and place on top of the first. Continue this layering until you have 6 layers of pastry in the tin.
Now it’s time to add the spinach. If it is still very wet, squeeze it between your hands to remove more moisture, or it will make the pastry too wet to become crisp and crunchy. Season well with pepper, but go easy on the salt as the feta is already salty.
Spread the spinach over the pastry-lined tin in an even layer and crumble the feta over the top.
Brush another sheet of filo with oil and place it over the filling. Continue oiling and layering the pastry until the remaining sheets are used up.
Trim off the overhanging pastry, then brush the top with EVOO and bake for 40–60 minutes, until the pie is crisp and golden brown. Serve hot or room temperature.
