Spanakopita
I’ve never met a person who doesn’t love Spanakopita…
First things first, here’s a little Greek lesson for you; σπανακόπιτα (spanakópita), from σπανάκι (spanáki, “spinach”) + πίτα (píta, “pie”). Essentially it’s spinach pie!
My Yiayia’s (Grandmother) cooking has always been something I’ve admired, and a lot of her friends and family do too! When I asked her for the recipe, it wasn’t as easy as opening up her hand written recipe book. This recipe is all in her head, so over the past few years I have slowly taken note, asked questions and demanded she weigh ingredients as I watch across the kitchen bench (because she rarely allows me to help!).
Yiayia’s secret: A duo of pastries. Shortcrust pastry on the base, puff pastry on the top!
This recipe was part of my series YouTube COVERSATIONS IN THE KITCHEN
In this episode of CITK I invited my friend Tim Butters, co-founder of City Cave, to join me. I met Tim about 7 years ago now, we were both invited to a mutual friends birthday in Byron Bay for a weekend. I don’t think I knew back then how much of an impact this friendship would have on my life (I actually don’t think I’ve ever told him that - now you know Tim hehe). Throughout our friendship he has taught me so much about myself and business and always pushing me to be a better person.
Spanakopita
Makes 18 pce
Ingredients
2 sheets shortcrust pasty
2 sheets puff pastry
500g Spinach
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp pepper
1 bunch shallots
1 bunches parsley
¼ bunch dill
200 gr Ricotta
465 gr feta
330 gr cheddar
4 eggs (2 extra eggs for wash)
Method
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius and remove the pastry from the freezer.
Prepare all your ingredients; wash and roughly chop (or break with your hands) the spinach, finely chop the shallots, parsley and dill. Place them all in a very (very) large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the eggs, ricotta, feta, cheddar and olive oil. Mix well.
Combine the wet ingredients into the spinach mix and mix well. Here's the thing, depending on your eggs you may need one more. You want the spinach mix to be well coated.
Set the spinach mix aside - you'll find as it sets aside it will slowly wilt and decompress.
Grease a large tray. My tray is a large square (it's called a Baklava tray apparently!).
Gently line the base of the tray with the shortcrust pastry. YIAYIA'S TIP: make sure about 0.5-1cm of pastry comes up the edge - it will shrink and you don't want gaps!
Prick the pastry with a fork and blind bake with rice or weights for 10 minutes, then remove the weights and bake for another 10 minutes.
Once the shortcrust pastry is completed, remove from the oven and gently add the filling on top of the shortcrust pastry. Pack it all in!
Once the spinach mix is in, gently place the puff pastry on top of the spinach mix, overlap if needed to cover the top completely.
Whisk the remaining 2 eggs and brush the top of the pastry for a golden finish. Prick with a fork and place back in the oven for 45 minutes or till golden brown.