Spinach, Pine Nut and Feta Pan Pie

 

It's Friday. It must be time for a pie. Do you follow my logic?



Spinach, Pine Nut and Feta Pan Pie
slightly adapted from Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals
Serves 4

100g pine nuts, toasted
5 eggs
300g feta, crumbled
50g cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Zest of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
15g unsalted butter
400g baby spinach
12 sheets filo pastry
smoked paprika
Fresh nutmeg
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Unsalted butter, melted for brushing the top of the pie
Sesame seeds for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

Put a large oven-proof frying pan on medium heat, add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the spinach leaves and stir until wilted. Drain and squeeze to get rid of as much liquid as you can. Set aside to cool. Wipe the frying pan clean with kitchen paper.

Put the eggs, both cheeses, oregano, lemon zest and about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the wilted spinach and the toasted pine nuts and stir to combine. Grate in some fresh nutmeg and check the seasoning, correcting with salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside.

Get a large sheet of baking paper about a 40cm square, and scrunch it into a ball. Run it under a tap to wet it and squeeze it out. Lay it on a work surface and rub it with a little olive oil. Take 4 sheets of filo pastry and lay them on top of the baking paper, overlapping as necessary to fit the baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Take another 4 sheets of filo pastry and lay them on top making another layer. Drizzle with more olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Repeat with the rest of the filo pastry. You will have 3 layers of filo pastry. Gently lift the pastry, with the baking paper, into the frying pan making sure the edges spill over the sides of the pan. Pour the egg mixture into the pastry and then fold the filo sheets over the top of the filling, letting them just fall where they will, to completely enclose the filling. Brush the top of the pie with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Put the pan on a medium heat on top of the stove for a few minutes to start to cook and crisp the bottom, then transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden and crisp.