Spinach pie

Prep time: 20 minutes  
Cooking & Baking: 1 hour 10 minutes     
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes 
Serves: 6–8

An incredible family recipe for spinach pie! A delicious savoury Greek pie made with perfectly crisp layers of filo pastry and a comforting filling of spinach and feta cheese.

Ingredients:

• 200 grams Greek yoghurt
• 2 eggs
• 125 ml water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 150 grams plain flour
• 100 grams feta cheese, roughly crumbled
• 2 tablespoons grated graviera or kefalotyri cheese

For the filling:

• 250 grams fresh spinach
• 2 small fresh spring onions
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 50 grams feta cheese, roughly crumbled

Directions:

For the pastry:

1. In a bowl, whisk the Greek yoghurt with a wire whisk until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs, followed by the water and olive oil. Add the salt and stir in the flour in small amounts until a smooth, runny batter forms. Stir in the crumbled feta.

For the filling:

1. Remove the spinach stalks and rinse the spinach thoroughly. Leave it to drain completely in a colander. Then finely chop it and add it to a bowl. Finely chop the spring onions, including the green parts, and add them to the bowl along with the parsley and dill. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper (not too much, as the feta is quite salty) and pepper. Mix everything together well.

Assembly:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
2. Grease a 28 cm round baking tin with olive oil. Add half the pastry and spread it evenly to cover the base of the tin. Next, spread the filling evenly on top. Sprinkle the crumbled feta over the spinach (the part used for the filling). Next, add 3 tablespoons of water to the remaining pastry and mix it to make it a little runnier, then spoon some of this over the spinach and feta filling. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t completely cover the spinach. Sprinkle the grated graviera or kefalotyri on top, along with a little olive oil.
3. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the top turns a deep golden colour.

Tips & Notes:

• Recommended for this recipe: Greek extra virgin olive oil (made from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives).
• I prefer to make this recipe with finely chopped frozen spinach, but fresh spinach can also be used.
• If you’re using fresh spinach, you’ll need to wilt, chop and dry the spinach before making the filling.
• Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach. Wet spinach can ruin the whole dish.
• You can prepare the filling a day in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Phyllo pastry is sold in various sizes. Large sheets measure 14 x 18 inches. You can cut them in half to make 14 x 9-inch sheets.