A QUICK SPANAKOPITA, WITH MUMMA'S COUNTRY KITCHEN

During the cooler winter months, the greens and citrus rule the local markets! Of the greens, the one veggie I find absolutely irresistible is English spinach...especially when the leaves are big, shiny and that special shade of vibrant green!

English spinach in particular is a hugely versatile vegetable as it can be eaten raw in salads and sandwiches, made into wonderful soups, or cooked with a little oil and garlic to make them sing in omelettes, pasta, rice dishes and a variety of other vegetable sides. Packed with fibre, they are also low in calories and dense in a selection of minerals and vitamins.

My favourite way of cooking them however has to be in a spanakopita, or spinach pie. Combined with a selection of fresh herbs, shallots, garlic and feta, the spanakopita becomes a meal that makes the taste buds sing!

Although it is wonderful with homemade pastry, using a quality ready made shortcrust pastry is a way to speed things up and, oh my, it's still so crazy good! Serve it as an entree or in larger pieces as a vegetarian main, I'm sure this is a recipe you will return to time and time again!

SERVES 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 packet sour cream shortcrust pastry sheet, defrosted

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 shallots, sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large bunch English spinach, roughly chopped

½ cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped

½ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/3 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped

100g marinated goat’s cheese or feta, crumbled

¼ cup mozzarella (or other baking cheese), grated

Salt, pepper to taste

1 egg, whisked well to use as eggwash

METHOD

PREHEAT the oven to 170C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

CUT the pastry in half lengthwise and pop back in the fridge using the plastic film to ensure the pastry doesn’t stick together.

HEAT the oil in a medium size frypan over a medium heat and add the shallots.

Saute for about 3 minutes before adding the garlic. Saute for another minute or

so until lovely and fragrant.

ADD the spinach and stir until all the juices is released and evaporates. Add the

herbs and season to taste. Once the herbs have started wilting, turn off the heat

and add the crumbled goat’s cheese/ feta. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

ONCE the mixture has cooled, place one half of the pastry on the lined tray. Place the mixture in the centre of the pastry, leaving about a 2cm border around the edge. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

FOLD the other half of pastry in half again and cut 5 slits along the fold line to

make the steam vents for the pie.

BRUSH the border on the first half of the tray with eggwash and then place the

other half with the slits on top. Press the edges of the pie together and then

slightly roll them in. Make a little crimp on the edges by using the pointer and

middle fingers of one hand and placing the pointer finger of your other hand in

between.

BRUSH the whole top with the eggwash and place in the oven to bake for 45

minutes or until crispy and a golden brown colour. Allow to cool a little before

slicing and serving.