Spinach and feta cheese pie

A few days ago, on the 28th of October, Greeks all around the world celebrated 80 years from the rejection of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. This ultimatum, presented to the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas on 28 October 1940, demanded from Greece to allow Italy and the Axis forces to enter Greek territory, or otherwise face war. Metaxas answered ‘ohi’ (‘no’ in Greek) and this marked the beginning of the country’s participation in World War II. In Greece, the anniversary of ‘ohi’ is commemorated every year with military and student parades. As I’ve been in London for almost a month now, I decided to cook a Greek recipe: a spinach and feta cheese pie (known as ‘spanakotyropita’ in Greek).

This traditional pie is often consumed as a between-meal snack, but it can also be served as a main dish. It is delicious, as well as nutritious, as spinach is a superfood full with minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium), vitamins and antioxidants. It can therefore have many health benefits; for example, it can help improve blood glucose control in people with diabetes, lower the blood pressure and the risk of some types of cancer, and improv bone, hair and skin health.

Spinach and feta cheese pie

Ingredients:

6 sheets of phyllo pastry
900 grams – 1 kg spinach (I use frozen spinach)
Mushrooms (not a typical ingredient, but I love mushroom so much that I always add a few!)
A diced onion (again, I use frozen pre-diced onion)
400 grams feta cheese, crumbled
Herbs: thyme, parsley, dill
Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Olive oil, to brush the baking pan and drizzle the pastry

Makes 4-6 servings

Method:

Prepare the filling first:
In a pan, add a little olive oil and the diced onion.
Sauté until it softens.
Add the mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes.
Add the spinach and let it cook.
When the spinach is cooked, transfer the filling to a bowl.
Add the crumbled feta cheese, the herbs, spices, salt and pepper.

Brush a baking pan with olive oil.
Lay 3 pieces of phyllo on the baking pan.
Drizzle (or spray) each sheet with olive oil.
Add the filling, spreading it evenly all over the phyllo base.
Cover the filling with another 3 sheets of phyllo pastry, drizzling each sheet with olive oil.
Score the surface with a sharp knife.
Bake at 180 degrees for about 60 minutes, or until the pie is golden and crunchy.

Enjoy your spinach and feta cheese pie!

Further reading

For a taste of the Greek summer, check out my post ‘6 delicious Greek summer recipes‘.

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)