This is one of my oldest recipes, and I’ve been meaning to share it with you ever since I started this blog. Not that this spinach and mint pie is that extraordinary or unique. Probably every food blog in the world has a recipe similar to this one on it. But I won’t let that stop me from sharing my version. Making this pie might sound like quite a process, but don’t let the number of words fool you. It is actually quite simple, and moreover, quite enjoyable to see the separate ingredients come together and form one delicious concoction of filo pastry, spinach, mint, and feta.
A little warning just in case you end up with some leftovers. It is not safe to reheat spinach. Something about nitrates turning into nitrites. But this isn’t a food science blog, so I’m not going too deep into that. Enjoy cooking!
Recipe
- Crumble the feta in a large bowl and mash with a fork into rough crumbs. Add cottage cheese, pecorino, eggs, panko, oil, and a generous amount of nutmeg, salt and pepper to the bowl and stir until the ingredients are well combined.
- If necessary, wash and dry the spinach to rinse off any dirt and remove the hard stalks. Cut the leaves into 1cm strips. Pick the mint leaves and chop them roughly.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the ghee and lightly grease an ovenproof pan. Quickly layer the sheets of filo pastry, each sheet lightly greased with melted ghee.
- Add the spinach and mint leaves to the egg mixture and stir well. Spoon the mixture onto the layers of filo and spread evenly.
- Fold the overhanging pastry over the pie filling. Don't be too precise about this, the more folds and crinkles you create, the crispier the top will be. Brush with the remaining ghee and cut the top of the pie into 8 pieces.
- Place the pan for a couple of minutes over medium-low heat to start the cooking process. This will help the bottom of the pie to cook properly, but be careful for if the heat is too high the bottom will burn (see the photos for proof).
- Bake for 45 minutes until set and golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes, cut into 8 pieces, and serve with a nice salad.
Ingredients
100g ghee
300g feta
100g cottage cheese
50g pecorino
6 eggs
50g panko
4tbsp extra virgin olive oil
nutmeg
salt + pepper
5 sheets of fresh filo pastry
200g fresh spinach
1 bunch of fresh mint
serves 4 - 8
