Spinach and feta filo Pie
100g pine nuts
5 eggs
300g feta cheese
50g Cheddar cheese
dried oregano
1 lemon
a good knob of butter
400g pre-washed spinach (I use frozen )
1x 270g pack of filo pastry
cayenne pepper
Half a nutmeg.
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Heat a dry ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and lightly toast the pine nuts until they are just tinged brown. Remove from the pan and put to one side for a moment. I don't always use the pine nuts
Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, then crumble in the feta cheese and grate in the Cheddar. Add a good grind of pepper and a couple of pinches of dried oregano. Then grate in the zest of 1 lemon and a drizzzle of extra virgin olive oil.
In a spring loaded cake tin
Take the file pastry out of the fridge and lay a large sheet of greaseproof paper on a clean dry worktop. Rub a little olive oil over the paper, then scrunch it up and lay it out flat again. Arrange four to five sheets of filo pastry in a rectangle, overlapping a bit at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over the sheets, then sprinkle over a pinch of cayenne pepper and season lightly. Repeat until you have 4 or 5 layers of filo.
Add the egg cheese spinich mixture
Fold over the edges of the filo pastry back over so that they completely cover the egg mixture.
Cover top with last sheet of filo brush with oil.
Cover with a damp piece of grease proof paper
Bake 1 hour to 1and a half hours. The deeper the pie the longer to cook
I have made this loads and only cook a batch at a time you can leave the rest of the dough in the fridge or freezer so that you always have it ready for an emergency
Ingredients
100g cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
100g plain flour, plus extra for flouring
pinch salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 heaped tsp mustard powder
100g finely grated parmesan,
1 egg, beaten
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds
Preparation method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor with the salt, cayenne, mustard powder and cheeses. Process together to begin with, and then finely pulse the mixture in short spurts as you notice the mixture coming together - it will eventually bind without the need for egg or water.
Form a sausage about the size of a £2coin .Wrap in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge over night
Roll in or brush with beaten egg then roll in seeds
Cut the biscuits in thin slices ( about the with of a 10 pence )
Lay them out on a greased baking tray about 2cm/¾in apart
Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, ( depending on thickness ) or until they are a gorgeous golden-brown colour; the superb smell will also inform you that they are ready.
Carefully lift the biscuits off the tray using a palette knife and place on a rack to cool. The biscuits will keep well in a sealed container for a few days .