Feta And Spinach Pie Food

CRISPY GREEK-STYLE PIE

Steps:

• Put the spinach into a large pan. Pour over a couple tbsp water, then cook until just wilted. Tip into a sieve, leave to cool a little, then squeeze out any excess water and roughly chop. Roughly chop the tomatoes and put into a bowl along with the spinach, feta and eggs. Mix well.
• Carefully unroll the filo pastry. Cover with some damp sheets of kitchen paper to stop it drying out. Take a sheet of pastry and brush liberally with some of the sundried tomato oil. Drape oil-side down in a 22cm loosebottomed cake tin so that some of the pastry hangs over the side. Brush oil on another piece of pastry and place in the tin, just a little further round. Keep placing the pastry pieces in the tin until you have roughly three layers, then spoon over the filling. Pull the sides into the middle, scrunch up and make sure the filling is covered. Brush with a little more oil.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Cook the pie for 30 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the cake tin, slice into wedges and serve with salad.

SPANAKOPITA: GREEK SPINACH PIE WITH FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Wash and drain the chopped spinach very well. If using frozen spinach, thaw completely and squeeze out excess water. The spinach should be dry before you begin cooking.
• Heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a deep sauté pan or large Dutch oven. Sauté the onions and green onions until tender.
• Add the spinach, parsley, and dill , and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is wilted and heated through.
• Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. The spinach mixture should be on the dry side; if using frozen spinach, you will want to cook it until any excess moisture evaporates. Remove from the heat and set the spinach mixture aside to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the feta, eggs, and ricotta cheese.
• Add the cooled spinach mixture and mix until combined.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine the melted butter with the olive oil in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly grease 2 (9 x 12-inch) rectangular pans.
• Carefully remove the phyllo roll from the plastic sleeve. Most packages come in 12 x 18-inch sheets when opened fully.
• Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, cut the sheets in half to make 2 stacks of 9 x 12-inch sheets. To prevent drying, cover 1 stack with wax paper and a damp paper towel while working with the other.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Layer about 10 sheets of phyllo on the bottom of each pan, making sure to brush each sheet with the butter-olive oil mixture before layering the next.
• Add half of the spinach mixture to each pan in an even layer and press with a spatula to flatten.
• Layer another 10 phyllo sheets on top of the spinach mixture in each pan, making sure to brush each sheet well with the butter-olive oil mixture.
• Before baking, score the top layer of the phyllo (making sure not to puncture the filling) to enable easier cutting of pieces later. (You can place the pan in the freezer to harden the top layers and then use a serrated knife to make the cutting easier.)
• Bake until the pie turns a deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Let cool for a few minutes and then slice, serve, and enjoy.

SPINACH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saute pan on medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly. Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. Put the spinach into a bowl and then gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, feta, and pignoli. Butter an ovenproof, nonstick, 8-inch saute pan and line it with 6 stacked sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter and letting the edges hang over the pan. Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the phyllo and neatly fold the edges up and over the top to seal in the filling. Brush the top well with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

SPINACH, PINE NUT, AND FETA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400F/200°C Pick a large ovenproof frying pan; this will be the only pan you need.
• Toast the pine nuts in the dry pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally so they won't scorch.
• Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl, add the toasted pine nuts, the cheeses, a pinch of fresh black or white pepper, the lemon zest, a couple of good pinches of oregano, about 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well and set aside.
• Put the empty pan back on high heat, add a little olive oil and the butter and half the spinach. Stir it until it starts wilting, and add the rest of the raw leaves as you can. Partially cover it and turn the heat to low, stirring occasionally until it is all wilted and well cooked, about 5-10 minutes. Set it aside to cool a bit. Add it to the egg mixture and stir well.
• Cut a generous piece of parchment about 1 1/2 times the width of the pan you're using. Wet it, ball it up, and lay it out flat on your work surface. Arrange several (4 or so, depending upon size) phyllo sheets on top of it to almost cover the paper, overlapping the edges. Remember, it's rustic, so messy will work as well as meticulous. Drizzle and rub (or brush) a little olive oil over the surface of the sheets. Sprinkle with a very small amount of salt, pepper, and (optional) cayenne pepper. Repeat until you have at least 3 layers, using up all the phyllo.
• Carefully lift the phyllo and parchment and place it all in the frying pan (don't bother to wash the pan first) with the edges hanging over the rim of the pan. Pour in the egg filling and spread it out. Fold the phyllo sheets over the top of the filling. You can see how it's done at www.jamieoliver.com/how-to-filo-pie.
• Put the pan back on the stove burner on medium heat for 5 or so minutes to brown the bottom, then put it into the oven and bake it for 20 minutes until golden and crisp. Serve hot or warm.

SPANAKOPITA (GREEK SPINACH AND FETA PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, place garlic, feta, basil, and parsley. You may add in any additional herbs to the food processor at this point to boost flavor. Pulse until mixture is blended well. Transfer to medium sized bowl. Add spinach, parmesan, and salt to same bowl. Mix until well combined. Set aside.
• Unroll phyllo dough. Lay first sheet of phyllo dough on a flat surface then gently brush with olive oil. Lay the next piece of phyllo right on top. Brush again with olive oil. Repeat with three more layers until you have a total of five layers. Try to work quickly during this part, the phyllo dough is sensitive to room temperature and is prone to drying out.
• Spread 1/3 of spinach and feta filling all across the phyllo. Avoid spreading the filling 1/2 an inch from edges to prevent extra filling from spilling out. Roll the dough up into a long log starting from bottom. Make sure you don't roll it too tightly, otherwise, it will crack at this next step. Very carefully roll dough into a spiral wheel, then transfer it to a round baking dish or oven-proof skillet. Repeat this process with the remaining sheets of phyllo.
• Brush the top with olive oil and bake for 45 minutes. While spanakopita is baking, mix 2 tbsp of olive oil, remaining basil, and parsley. Remove spanakopita 5 minutes before finished baking and brush the top with herbed olive oil. Bake fore 5-10 more minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve it as is or with Chimichurri sauce for dipping.

FETA AND SPINACH FREE-FORM PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven - 200°C.
• Line baking tray with baking paper.
• Place pastry on tray.
• Top with spinach, tomatoes and feta.
• Leave 5 cm border around edge.
• Whisk ricotta and egg.
• Season to taste.
• spoon over feta.
• Fold in pastry edges, pinching to seal.
• Bake 20 - 25 minutes till golden and puffed.

SPINACH AND FETA PIE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the garlic, onions and chard stems until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt to combine. Add 1 cup water, cover, reduce the heat to low and cook without stirring until the rice is tender but not mushy, about 12 minutes. Uncover, add the spinach, chard leaves and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the greens are wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl to cool (stirring with a large spoon will speed this up).
• 2. When the filling is cool, stir in the egg and then the feta, dill, raisins, pine nuts and lemon zest.
• 3. Place a large piece of parchment paper on a work surface. Lay out one sheet of phyllo and brush all over with some of the melted butter. Lay another sheet crosswise on top and brush with butter again. Working to form a large round of phyllo layers, lay an additional 6 sheets of phyllo dough diagonally over the first 2 sheets, brushing each sheet with butter, so they overlap in the center. Spread the filling in the center of the sheets and bring all the loose ends of the phyllo to rest on top to make a free-form pie, using the butter to help the pieces stick to each other. Lay 4 of the remaining 6 sheets of phyllo evenly over the top of the pie, tucking the edges under the bottom to form an enclosed disk and brushing each piece of dough with butter. Use the last 2 sheets, if necessary, to cover the filling or enclose the circle. Brush the outside of the pie with butter.
• 4. Lift the parchment with the pie onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the phyllo is golden brown and crispy, about 40 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with the Tomato Salad on the side.
• Toss the tomatoes with the pepperoncini and the olives in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.