Good Spanakopita

Buy or find
Red onion, 2, peeled and sliced
Spring onion, 1, washed and sliced
Garlic, 2 cloves, crushed
Silverbeet, 2 bunches, washed and roughly chopped
Ground nutmeg, a small pinch
Eggs, 2, gently beaten
Feta cheese, 200g, crumbled
Dill leaves, 1-2 tbs, washed and chopped
Butter, 25g
Olive oil spray
Salt and pepper to taste
Filo pastry, 1 package

Do
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced).

Add the butter to a large frying pan with a lid or a dutch oven and add the onion and fry over medium heat until the onions have softened and are starting to turn golden.

Add the garlic and fry for 10 seconds.

Place the silverbeet on top of the onions. Do not mix together with the onions. Cover the frying pan and steam until the silverbeet has wilted.

Remove the silverbeet and leave in a strainer to cool.

Squeeze the silverbeet thoroughly, once cooled. (This is done to prevent the spanakopita from being too damp or humid.)

Place the onion and silverbeet in a bowl and leave to cool slightly.

Add the eggs, nutmeg, feta cheese, spring onion and dill. Stir to combine.

Spray a round cast iron skillet with olive oil spray.

Place three or four sheets of filo pastry on the skillet. Do this in a fan shape created by overlapping the sheets. These sheets should cover the entire base and sides of the skillet. Allow the filo to overhang the sides of the skillet. (The overhang will act as the lid to cover the filling.) Spray each sheet with olive oil spray as you lay them.

Add the filling and spread to achieve consistent coverage of the pastry.

Fold the filo overhang and press to lightly seal.

Spray with olive oil spray and bake for 60 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon and your favourite salad.

If you are making a low salt version using mozzarella rather than feta, serve the spanakopita with salsa consisting of sliced baby truss tomatoes, fresh parsley and dill leaves sliced, a drizzle of raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil.

This is also good made into rolls with puff pastry. Brush with egg wash (1 egg yolk whisked with a tsp of water) before cooking.

I find that this dish needs more salt than is found in the cheese, don’t add too much but it benefits from some.