Spanakopita (Spinach & Feta Pie)

SPANAKOPITA (Spinach & Feta Pie)
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Use 28cm diameter baking tray
Ingredients
For Pastry:
- 3½ cups plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup warm water, enough to form a soft dough
- 100g melted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Filling
- ½ bunch silverbeet washed
- 1 English spinach bunch, washed
- 2 tbsp each of following herbs:
- Continental parsley, dill, basil leaves, mint leaves, chopped
- ¾ cup shallots, finely sliced
- 200g Australian feta
- 100g Greek feta
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- Pepper to season
Method
Prepare the baking tray by coating the base and sides with butter and a little olive oil.
Pastry:
- Mix the flour with salt in a large bowl and make a well in centre.
- Add olive oil and enough warm water to make a soft dough.
- Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and soft, cover with cling wrap and put aside.
Filling:
- Wash the silverbeet and spinach well and chop.
- Lightly grease with olive oil a deep frypan, add spinach and silverbeet, stirring occasionally over medium heat until wilted.
- Drain excess water and set aside in a large mixing bowl.
- Chop and fry the shallots in olive oil, until translucent.
- Place in bowl with wilted greens.
- Crumble the feta cheeses into the bowl using your fingertips.
- Add the chopped herbs, pepper and the lightly beaten eggs and mix well.
- Set aside and prepare the pastry.
Note – feta cheese is salty so no extra salt is required.
- Break the dough into smaller balls and using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a pastry round about the size of a bread plate size.
- Brush each round with a light coat of a mix of melted butter and oil.
- Repeat this 5 times to create a stack of 6 rounds where each layer is buttered except for the top layer.
- Then roll this stack to form one large pastry round – this is the pastry base.
- It needs to be rolled out larger than the baking tray so that it comes up the sides of baking tray.
- Repeat these steps to make the pie’s pastry top.
- Only making a stack of 5 rounds instead of 6.
- Roll the 5 rounds to form one and after placing the filling into the pan cover with the final round.
- Brush the top with melted butter and using a knife gently cut into the pastry in a large grid manner.
- This is to prevent a dome rising in the centre of pie during baking.
- Bake at 200C for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to 180C and bake a further 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow pie to sit 10 minutes before cutting.