SPINACH CHEESE PIES RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
  2. Toast the pine nuts in a large ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden and smelling fantastic, tossing occasionally.
  3. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl, crumble in the feta, then grate in the Cheddar. Season with a pinch of black pepper and a couple of pinches of dried oregano.
  4. Finely grate in the lemon zest, drizzle in a little oil, then toss in the toasted pine nuts. Mix well.
  5. Melt the butter in the frying pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of oil, add half the spinach, stirring until wilted, then when there’s space, add the remaining spinach, stirring regularly until wilted.
  6. Lay a 50cm strip of greaseproof paper out on a clean work surface, rub lightly with oil and scrunch up, then flatten out again.
  7. Arrange 4 sheets of filo in a large rectangle on the greaseproof paper, overlapping at the edges, so that it’s almost covering the greaseproof.
  8. Rub the filo with a little oil, sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Repeat until you have 3 layers.
  9. Stir the wilted spinach into the egg mixture, then grate in half the nutmeg and mix well.
  10. Slide the greaseproof and filo into the empty frying pan, so that the edges spill over, then push down into the sides of the pan.
  11. Pour in the spinach mixture and spread out evenly, then fold the filo up over the filling to cover.
  12. Place the pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes, just to get the bottom cooking, then transfer to the top shelf of the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Delicious served with a fresh seasonal salad.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7, and line your largest baking tray with some baking paper.
• Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, drizzle in the oil and cook the spinach for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until completely wilted. Tip into a sieve and allow to cool before squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Finely chop the spinach and put into a mixing bowl along with the crumbled feta, garlic granules and a generous amount of black pepper. Mix together well until evenly combined.
• Remove the pastry sheet from the fridge and unroll. Cut the sheet lengthways down the middle to make two long rectangles. Pile the filling onto one piece, leaving a generous border around the edges, but compressing the spinach to make a sausage shape along the length of the pastry. Cut little widthways slashes along the other piece of pastry, stopping just over a centimetre shy of the edges. Brush around the spinach sausage with some of the beaten egg. Gently lift the sheet up and stretch it a little to open up the slashes and then put carefully over the spinach-topped pastry.
• Use a fork to seal all around the pastry edges, crimping as you go. Brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg, avoiding getting any in the exposed areas of spinach, and then bake for 25-30 minutes or until crisp and deep golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.