It is no secret that the Greeks love their pies and spanakopita is probably the most known and popular of them all. Pies are a greek tradition that vary from sweet to savoury fillings and with crumbly shortcrust pastry or flaky filo toppings. While I love buttery puff pastry or soft, chewy shortcrust I do prefer filo pastry as it feels a bit lighter and has a more crisp texture. It also holds it’s shape and texture a lot better when eaten cold the next day compared to puff pastry that naturally loses it’s … puff and becomes a bit soggy. A spanakopita uses the favourite filo pastry and is basically feta and spinach. I add pine nuts and both crème fraîche and greek yoghurt to give the filling that sharp, salty kick to it.
My local Greek deli, Rises, always has a good selection of pies on offer. Tiropita is a popular cheese pie made up of a mixture of soft and hard cheeses and topped with filo pastry. Or a Kreatopita is filled with minced lamb, aubergines and feta and is Corfu’s speciality pie. A Kotopita is filled with chicken and slow cooked onions. Adding the filo pastry on top definately gives this Greek chicken pie a much lighter feel compared to it’s British euqivalent. While our pies are often a creamy filling with a heavy stodgy pastry topping (and don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love them!), a greek Pita, is much more comparable to the Turkish baklavas. They are seasoned with fresh herbs and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, filled with delicious cheeses and topped with delicate and crispy filo pasty. Of course, Greek food is so much more than a pie. It is roasted vegetables in good quality olive oil, the most wonderful deep fried courgettes or aubergines best dipped in tzatziki and other fresh dips such as taramasalata. It is slow cooked meats with beans, fresh fish grilled or cooked simply with ingredients such as tomatoes. And tomatoes that I still stand firm on this – you just can’t get the same taste from in the UK or Germany. Greek food is about simple ingredients by using only fresh and good quality ingredients and their pies make the most of that, by taking those leftovers to make a delicious filling. It isn’t complicated, it certainly isn’t expensive and above all – it tastes delicious! I think that there is a lot that we could learn from the mediterranean diet…
- 400g fresh parsley
- 6 sheets filo pastry
- 50g pine nuts
- 150/200g feta
- 100g crème fraîche
- 3 tbpsn greek yoghurt
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 3 shallots (peeled and finely sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed)
- Small slice of butter
- Olive oil
- Salt/ pepper
- Juice of half a lemon
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4.
- In a large fying pan add a dash of olive oil and then the shallots and garlic. Cook on a medium heat for around 5 mins until the onions start to soften.
- During this time toast the pine nuts for just a couple of mins in a small frying pan. Once done add them to a large mixing bow.
- Add the butter to the pan with the onions and garlic and then add the spinach. Stir regularly for just 1-2 mins until the spinach starts to slightly wilt. Then pour the contents into the large mixing bowl with the pine nuts.
- Take the feta and crumble it into the mixing bowl. Then add the crème fraîche, greek yoghurt and lemon juice and mix everything until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the ingredients into an oven/ pie dish. Then take a layer of feta and gently scrunch over the filling. Repeat with all the layers and then brush with the beaten egg.
- Place in the oven for around 25 mins until the pastry is golden and crisp.
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