Spanakopita

Spinach pie. Wholesome – because so much iron in spinach! – prettily greenly herby, crunchy on the outside, and mouthwateringly yummy. An excellent vegetarian main course for 4.

• 500g fresh spinach 
• 1  onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed 
• 2 tbsp veg oil
• 8 sheets of filo pastry 
• 4 tbsp of butter, melted 
• Grated nutmeg
• 200g pack of feta cheese, crumbled 
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• Handfuls of fresh parsley, dill and mint, chopped 
• Salt and pepper 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 160C fan (180C)
2. Wash the spinach and chop it. In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of the oil and cook the spinach until wilted
3. Transfer it to a sieve and squeeze out as much water as possible
4. In the meantime, add the other tbsp of oil into the same pan, drop in the onion and garlic, and saute until soft – about 5 mins
5. Put the spinach, onion and garlic into a bowl and add eggs, herbs and feta. Grate a few gratings of nutmeg over
6. Season and mix well until everything is combined
7. Time for the butter! Best to apply it using a pastry brush if you have one. Butter the inside of a ceramic oven dish then place in a layer of filo pastry, letting the edges drape over the sides. Brush the filo with melted butter and then put the next sheet on. Do this with 5 sheets of filo altogether. You don’t need to butter the top one because you then fill your filo-lined dish with the spinach mixture
8. Cover with the remaining filo sheets, buttering each one in turn, then flip the trailing edges over onto the top of the pie. Scrunch and crinkle them before also brushing them with butter for an extra crunchy top. (With hindsight, I know I called this dish wholesome – and I stand by that – but it’s also buttery and cheesy and eggy, so definitely not a diet food!)
9. You can scatter the top with sesame seeds if you want to make it especially tempting and crunchy
10. Bake for 20-30 mins until the top is golden brown and crisp
11. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins before serving straight from the dish

A tomato salad goes really beautifully with this dish – incredibly simple to make. Beautiful, refreshing and delicious to eat. Just cut up some lovely ripe tomatoes (slices or wedges or whatever you like), sprinkle with salt, a good grind of black pepper, a large pinch of sugar and some decent extra virgin olive oil. That’s it.