Spinach and cheese filo pie

Description

At a glance

Nutrition rating

Main Ingredient

Serves

4-6

This spinach and cheese pie made using thin layers of filo pastry is one of my all-time favourites. The saltiness of the fetta is mellowed by substituting half ricotta cheese (or you can use a soft farm cheese). Make it with either spinach or silverbeet (kale) - they both work well.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh silverbeet, trimmed and chopped, or
500 g frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
6 green onions (shallots), sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 eggs, lightly beaten
125 g fetta cheese, crumbled
125 g ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 sheets filo pastry
spray oil

Methods/steps

1. Preheat the oven to moderate, 180ºC (350ºF). Lightly grease a 20 cm
springform pan, or a round or square casserole dish.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan on high. Sauté the spinach and onions for 4-5 minutes until the spinach has wilted. Press the mixture into a strainer to remove is much excess liquid as possible and allow it to cool slightly.

3. Tip the spinach mixture into a large bowl and blend in the beaten eggs, cheeses, parsley and nutmeg. Mix well.

4. Fold 6 sheets of filo into halves. Spray the surface of each folded piece with oil and layer them in the base of the prepared pan. Spoon in the filling and spread evenly. Fold the remaining sheets of filo in half and spray with oil. Layer on top of filling to cover.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp, set and golden. Cut into portions and serve hot or warm with a Greek salad.

Additional Tips

Preparation time: 20 min Cooking time: 30 min

Nutrition per serve:
One serve (including a generous serve of salad)contains 1740 kJ (415 calories), 24 g fat (includes 7 g saturated fat), 22g carbohydrate (includes 4g sugars), 7 g fibre and 735 mg sodium. Read our nutrition rating system.

Read about spinach as one of my super foods
Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin C, folate, beta-carotene as well as vitamin E. It also contains a number of antioxidants, particularly lutein and zeaxanthin, which help keep macular degeneration (a leading cause of blindness in older people) at bay. Try to include it (cooked or as a salad of baby spinach leaves) in your meals at least twice a week. Read more.

This recipe is from Zest: the Nutrition for Life Cookbook by Catherine Saxelby and Jennene Plummer. If you want to cook healthy recipes that are quick and delicious, try the many easy recipes in this book. It's available here online from our website, click here to order.