Green Filo Pie

With all the Christmas parties, feasting and drinking that are going on at this time of year, sometimes it's nice to have a simple dinner at home with lots of green vegies. This pie is the perfect dish.

It really is easy to make and you can prepare it in the morning, or even the day before, and then just pop it in the oven when you're ready to eat.

It's fantastic hot, straight out of the oven, when the filo pastry is all crispy, but it's also nice to have cold. Perfect to take on a picnic or for lunch the next day.

I used cavalo nero and kale for my greens, because the fruit shop had them on the clearance table, but you could use spinach, silverbeet, chard or any anything else that takes your fancy. Feel free to use whatever herbs you have on hand too. Dill, basil, parsley, coriander, oregano.......they are all lovely.

I've made this pie lots of times before, but never thought to put the filling mixture in the food processor to combine it. Normally I stir everything together in a big bowl, which leaves separate chunks of ricotta and spinach. It's so much easier to whiz it all up and have a lovely green pie with a much smoother texture. I'll definitely be doing this again next time.

The Greeks may not approve of my version of cheese and spinach pie, but I think it's pretty tasty!

Green Filo Pie

2 bunches of greens

300g fresh ricotta cheese

130g feta cheese, chopped

4 eggs

A handful each of parsley and mint leaves

1/4 cup sour cream or creme fraiche

40g Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated

Pepper to taste

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small onion, diced

375g packet of filo pastry, at room temperature

Wash the greens and trim the woody stems and veins from the leaves and coarsely chop.

Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, or until wilted.

Remove from the water and drain well in a colander. Squeeze to remove as much water as possible.

Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the filo pastry. Whiz to combine and until it's a lovely green colour and quite smooth. Season to taste with pepper. You shouldn't need much salt as the parmesan and feta are salty.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Lightly grease a large baking dish with oil spray.

Layer dish with sheets of filo, spraying lightly between each sheet with a little of the oil spray. I needed to overlap the sheets to cover the base of my tray and allow enough overhand to fold over the top of the pie. You want about 5 layers of pastry to make a sturdy base.

Fill the case with all of the spinach mixture and spread evenly in the dish.

Take one piece of filo pastry and fold into thirds. Place in the centre of the pie and then fold the edges in to create a parcel.

Lightly spray the top with oil spray.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the filo pastry crispy.

Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, cut into large wedges and serve with a simple salad and your favourite tomato chutney.

Enjoy!

So Much Spinach!

We have so much spinach in the garden at the moment that it's getting ridiculous! Over winter there wasn't much growing, but spinach and rainbow chard were the two things we definitely didn't have a shortage of. I've made pies, spinach daal, lamb saag, salads and a variety of vegetable dishes, but still it keeps growing. I've given away bags and bags of the stuff to friends, family and local cafes and restaurants, but we have more and more and more!

What to do with it all??

When we were kids, Mum used to make cheese and spinach pie all the time. It was probably the Aussie version of spanakopita, that amazing Greek pastry. We would gobble it down and there were hardly ever any leftovers.

I have modified Mum's recipe a bit - taken away the filo pastry, added extra herbs and more cheese. It's probably less pie now and more frittata. Whatever you want to call it, it tastes delicious as a light dinner with a salad and can also be served cold to take to a picnic. For nibbles at a party, try cutting it into small squares and putting a dollop of a tomato chutney on top. Your guests will love it!

Cheese And Spinach Slice

A bunch of fresh spinach or other greens

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

500g cottage cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese, plus extra for the top

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 cup mint, chopped

6 eggs

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Wash spinach well to remove any dirt and shake dry. Finely chop and place in a microwave safe container with a lid.

Microwave for 2 minutes so that it starts to wilt. Drain well in a colander, pressing to remove extra water. Allow to cool.

Combine all other ingredients in a bowl, mixing well.

Stir through spinach when cool so it doesn't start cooking the egg.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remember that the cheese is salty, so you might not need much.

Pour the mixture into a lightly greased 20x30cm baking dish and smooth the surface.

Sprinkle the top with extra grated cheese to cover.

Bake for approx 45 minutes, or until the filling is set and the cheese on top is golden and bubbling.

Serve with a simple salad or some vegies.