Spanikopita (Feta & Spinach Pie)

Certain combinations of herbs conjure up such strong memories of places and dishes for me. Mint and coriander take me to Vietnam - and when you put mint and dill into the same recipe I’m suddenly (very hungry and) right back in Greece at a cooking class on the island of Lesbos…

Serves 4 (makes one pie 20cm x 25cm)

olive oil
small bunch scallions, finely chopped
small bunch of garlic scapes (or 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
bunch of chard (300g approx)
200g feta
1-2 tablespoons chopped dill
1-2 tablespoons chopped mint
pinch of ground nutmeg, or a little grated nutmeg
zest of 1 lemon, juice of 1/2 lemon
3 eggs
200-270g filo pastry

1) Heat a wide pan over a medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Add the scallions and garlic and cook for a few minutes with a little salt and pepper.
2) Wash the chard and then remove the greens from the stalks (I just rip them off roughly by hand)
3) Finely chop the stalks and add to the pan of scallions. Cook for a few more minutes.
4) Roughy chop the chard greens. Once the chard stalks are soft add the greens to the pan and cook. Once the greens are soft take the pan off the heat.
5) Meanwhile, crumble the feta into a large bowl. Add the mint, dill, nutmeg, lemon zest and eggs and stir.
6) Add the chard mixture to the bowl of feta and stir again. Add the lemon juice and then taste to check the seasoning. Add more black pepper, nutmeg, lemon juice, herbs - whatever you think will make the mixture “sing”! You probably won’t need salt as the feta is quite salty.
7) Brush the inside a baking dish with olive oil. Take the first sheet of filo pastry, brush with olive oil and then start lining the baking dish with it. You may want to cut the filo into smaller rectangles. With each sheet you add, cover the bottom of the dish and fold the filo up one edge of the dish (leaving any excess sticking up - you can fold it over the filling later). Brush each sheet of filo with olive oil before you add it. You want at least 3 sheets of filo overlapping on the bottom of the dish - but more is fine.
8) Once the dish is thoroughly lined spoon in the feta spinach mix.
9) Fold over the excess filo to cover the top of the feta spinach mix. Add more filo if required.
10) Bake in the oven at 180*C for about 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.
11) Serve hot, or at room temperature with a green salad