Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) Recipe

This Greek spinach pie makes a great meat-free option. Serve as a main dish, an accompaniment, or as finger food.

Spanakopita traditionally includes spinach, we’ve added watercress for a peppery kick. Feel free to use all spinach or rocket instead. If you have any spinach left over, take a look at our other spinach recipes.

There’s so much spinach in each slice. This is great as spinach is a brilliant source of iron, vitamin C and vitamin K – important for bone health. Feta cheese is a traditional Greek ingredient and a key part of a spanakopita. It holds its shape well when baked so gives a lovely texture. Feta is also high in calcium and B12 and contains less fat than Cheddar and other hard cheeses.

This recipe, although a little time consuming, is incredibly simple. It's great as part of a main meal with salad or as a picnic food. It can be eaten hot or cold.

We’ve made our spanakopita in a round shallow casserole dish. It can also be made in a roasting tin and cut in to squares – large or small – depending on the occasion.

Ingredients

• 520g spinach
• 80g watercress
• 200g feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 shallots, finely diced
• 2 large eggs
• small handful dill, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1⁄2tsp nutmeg
• 12 sheets filo pastry
• 75g butter, melted
• 50g Parmesan, grated
• 2tbsp sesame seeds

You will need:

• 30cm shallow casserole dish or medium roasting tin, buttered

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Put the spinach and watercress in a microwaveable bowl with 3tbsp water and microwave until the spinach has wilted. Remove and drain, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible, using the back of a spoon. Transfer the mix to a tea towel and remove any excess water. Then put in a large bowl and stir in the feta, shallots, eggs, dill, garlic, lemon zest and nutmeg, plus salt and pepper.
2. Lay a sheet of filo pastry on top of the buttered dish, butter and lay another sheet on top. Repeat until you have 6 sheets of filo on the base.Spread the filling over the filo, leaving a 0.5cm gap around the edge. Lay a sheet of pastry on top, brush with butter and sprinkle with 1tbsp grated Parmesan. Lay another sheet of filo on top and repeat the process until you have 6 stacked sheets of filo. Using the palm of your hand, press down the layers. With a knife, score through the top 3 layers of filo pastry into 8 slices. Brush with butter and sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Bake for 20-25 mins, or until golden.