michelle picker cooks

When I’m not cooking, I’m lucky enough to have other excellent cooks around me. This spinach pie is a recent example.

Thaw a packet of filo pastry and preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Remove the roots from a large bunch of English spinach, wash well (making sure no grit remains) then drain. In a large pot, heat a little olive oil. Chop the spinach roughly and add to the pot with 2 cloves of minced garlic and  a pinch of nutmeg. Stir to combine then cover the pot and allow to cook for 5 minutes, shaking occasionally. Meanwhile heat some olive oil in another pan and fry 6 medium mushrooms (sliced thinly) adding ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes (optional) and 2 tablespoons of pine nuts. To the cooked spinach add 200 grams (7 ounces) of ricotta cheese, 2-3 tablespoons of chopped olives (any colour) and the mushroom mixture . Stir to combine then set aside. Grease a shallow oven dish with a mixture of oil and butter and line with 4 layers of filo pastry making sure to cover the sides as well. Spoon the spinach mixture into the pastry adding a light sprinkling of feta cheese. Crumple another 4 sheets of filo pastry over the filling, crumble a little feta cheese over the top and drizzle or spray with a little olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry on the top is browned.

Here’s another delicious combination of vegetables in filo pastry which can be served on it’s own or as a side dish with meat.

Boil or steam 2 potatoes until nearly tender, then peel and slice them. Fry 2 sliced onions and a sliced red bell pepper in olive oil until wilted. Add 2 cloves of finely diced or crushed garlic, freshly ground black pepper, a little each of thyme and dill and a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes. Next add the potatoes and heat through before adding a generous handful of chopped parsley and a large bunch of roughly chopped English spinach, allowing them to wilt before turning off the heat. Now stir through 200 gm of diced fetta cheese. Oil a large oven dish and line with approximately 6 to 8 layers of filo pastry, brushing a little olive oil between some of the layers, before adding the vegetable filling. Take some more sheets of pastry and scrunch them over the top, brushing again with olive oil. Bake at 200C or 400F until the pastry is crisp and golden.