30-Minute Meal: Spinach and Feta Filo/Phyllo Pie with Cucumber Salad
Servings: 8 slices
Layers of filo pastry are filled with nutty and cheesy spinach filling and served with refreshing cucumber salad.
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Ingredients
Pie filling:
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 400 gr prewashed baby spinach
- 100 gr pine nuts
- 5 eggs
- 300 gr feta cheese
- 50 gr cheddar cheese
- 1 Tbsp olive oil plus more for brushing
Aromatics:
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- zest from 1/2 lemon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
Other ingredients:
- 270 gr pack of filo pastry thawed
- ½ tsp Cayenne pepper optional
Cucumber salad:
- 1 cucumber
- 10 pitted black olives
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 spring onions
- ½ lemon
- 5 or 6 sprigs of fresh mint
Recommended equipment:
Instructions
Prepare pine nuts, egg mixture, and cook spinach:
- Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Turn the oven to 400 F. Put a medium oven-proof frying pan (about 10 inches in diameter) on a medium heat
- Put the pinenuts into the dry ovenproof frying pan to toast, tossing occasionally. Keep an eye on them. Crack 5 eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble in all the feta cheese. Grate in all the cheddar cheese. Add aromatics and 1 Tbsp of olive oil Once the nuts are lightly golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well
- Put the empty frying pan back on the heat, add 3 Tbsp of butter and pile in half of the spinach. Gently push and move it around and add more as it wilts down. Make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom and when there's room, start adding the rest, stirring frequently until wilted and water has evaporated
Assembling the pie:
- Meanwhile, take the filo pastry out of the fridge. Get the oven proof pan (about 10 inch in diameter). Arrange filo pastry sheet on the pan overlapping at the bottom of the pan and edges, about 3 layers or so in thickness. The edges spill over. Gently push it down into the sides of the pan. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Repeat again with layering until you have 3-4 layers or until you use up all the filo pastry sheets. Don't worry about any cracked filo sheets. Remember to keep stirring the spinach
- Once the spinach is really nice and dense, take the pan off the heat. Let it cool down a bit. Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture. Mix well. Pour in the egg mixture and spread it out
- Fold the filo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will. Don't worry about the "look". Put the pan back on a medium heat for about 2-3 minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 20 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp
Cucumber salad:
- Run a fork down the length of the cucumber all around it, then halve and quarter it lengthways and cut the quarters across into 1/2 inch chunks. Put them into a mixing bowl and set aside
- Drain 10 black olives and tear them into another bowl. Pour over 2 Tbsp of balsamid vinegar and push down on the olives so the vinegar start pulling out their saltiness. Trim and finely slice the spring onions, then add to the olives
- Drizzle Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of 1/2 a lemon into the olive mixture and stir really well. Deseed and finely slice 1/2 a red chili and add to the bowl of cucumber. Pick the leaves from the sprigs of mint, finely slice them and add to the cucumber. Pour over the dressing, toss quickly, drizzle over a little more extra virgin olive oil and take to the table
Serving:
- Check on the pie and when it's ready, pull it out from the oven and let it cool down for 5 minutes and then carefully lift the paper up into a wooden cutting board to serve with your salad
