Spanikopita (Spinach and Cheese Pie)
Spanikopita – otherwise known as spinach and cheese pie – is my all-time favourite Greek dish
This is my healthier version – made with rainbow chard (colourful silverbeet) in place of spinach
rainbow chard is a colourful version of silverbeet…I think its very pretty 🙂
Spanikopita is really easy to make and can be done in stages
I actually cooked the onion and rainbow chard one day and put the pie together the following day
Which made it seem really quick and easy!
Many people are scared of using filo pastry. Don’t be!
It’s really easy to use – see my steps below showing you how
With it’s not too long list of ingredients, I hope you give this delicious pie a go
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
- 1 bunch rainbow chard, stems and leaves separated and washed well
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 150g Danish feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 eggs, beaten
- fresh ground pepper
- 6 sheets of filo pastry
- 2-3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Heat a large fry pan (that has a lid) over medium heat.
- When hot, add some oil, the onion and finely sliced rainbow chard stems
- Cook until soft, about 10 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add chopped rainbow chard leaves, place lid on the
fry pan and cook over low-medium heat until very tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir every few minutes. - When cooked, allow to cool slightly, then tip into a bowl.
- Add feta, eggs and pepper and stir to combine.
- Heat oven to 180 degrees C and have a 22 cm (9
inch ) round baking dish ready - Cover base of
dish with a layer of filo pastry, brush with olive oil, then place another layer of pastry over in a criss-cross pattern (see pictures below) - Continue like this until you have 5 sheets of filo pastry
- Place filling in
dish and pull filo pastry over to cover - Brush top with some olive oil, then scrunch up the last piece of filo and place on top
- Brush with olive oil and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown
- Serve not with salad
roll out filo and have baking dish ready
place a sheet of filo to cover base of baking dish and brush with a little olive oil
keep layering filo and brushing each layer with olive oil until you have 5 sheets
place filling in dish
cover over with filo pastry
brush top with olive oil
scrunch up one sheet of filo and place on top of pie
brush top of pie with olive oil and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds
bake for 30 mins and its ready to eat 🙂
