Spinach and Feta Filo Pie

Some recipes are for special occasions and come about after weeks of thought and planning. Some are repeated over and over again with minute tweaks each time to get it just right. Some are things people have wanted to make for ages, are inspired by a person, place or memory. Some come about when you are stuck on something savoury to make and type the very vague term ‘pie’ into BBC Good Food’s search engine… Today’s recipe would be the latter!But lack of planning or forethought does not mean lack of success. (Although it may mean lack of photo of whole pie due to it being eaten very quickly….)  This was super simple and I’ve made it several times now during the week – it’s so quick and the filling ingredients are all fairly store-cupboard regulars in my family. It might become my signature savoury dish at this rate! The buttery pastry and salty cheese makes the iron rich, super healthy spinach filling seem a little bit more indulgent and despite the hefty amount of veg you still find yourself going back for more. I also like that this can be easily adapted – I used frozen instead of fresh spinach and more pastry than suggested to get more layers but you could go further – one of the commenters on the website says they added chorizo and chicken which could be good if you’re cooking for a true meat eater! You can find the recipe here – enjoy :)

Spinach and Feta Pastries

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you spinach, make spinach and feta pastries!

I was recently fortunate enough to receive a gift of a large bag of home grown spinach from the garden of my Mum's close friend Jan. Fresh, vibrant, bursting with colour - I knew this gift would not be waiting long to be used. After a Bank Holiday trip to the Suffolk seaside inspiration had dutifully struck. Thanks to hot pastries bought from Lawsons Deli and eagerly consumed on the beach, this spinach had been found a use! Once home, the cooking began. 

Mixed with salty, crumbly feta cheese (my current favourite thing: joining lunchtime salads every day.) and wrapped in flaky flaky puff pastry: these were ready. Well, after a speedy 15-minute trip to the oven - these were ready. The pastry rose, the feta melted and the spinach darkened. Just to warn you - these give a  big hit of spinach flavour. As someone still learning to love spinach in forms other than cannelloni, they occasionally erred on the too-spinachy side. However, they were balanced nicely with sweet tomato salad and I know for anyone who likes spinach they are delish. So next time you find spinach lurking in your kitchen? You know what to do :)

Spinach and Feta Pastries
As these were based on Lawsons Deli pastries and a gift of spinach, I didn't use exact measurements, so these are rough approximations. These quantities made 6 pastries, with two per serving for a main meal. You can easily scale the numbers up or down for different amounts of people.

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
200g carefully washed (no one wants soil in a pasty), destalked and cooked spinach
1 egg
150g feta cheese
1tbsp mint, finely chopped
1tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
250g puff pastry
1 more beaten egg

1. Preheat the oven to 190'C.
2. Saute the onion and garlic slowly in two large knobs of butter until the onion is softened and golden. Meanwhile, squeeze all excess water out of the spinach and chop into more bite-size pieces with a large pair of scissors.
3. Take the onion off the heat and add in all the remaining ingredients other than pastry. Season well and taste, then add more of whatever is lacking.
4. Roll out the pastry very thinly and cut into 10cm squares. Place a large tablespoon of the spinach mix into the centre of each pastry square. Brush the edges with beaten egg and bring up to the top, pinching together diagonal edges and twisting the corners. Brush the whole top with more egg.
5. Place on a baking tray and bake for 15-20minutes until the pastry is risen and golden and the feta is melted. Serve warm with a salad in the sunshine and enjoy!