Spinach Pies (French Style)

1 bunch silverbeet, stalks removed, thoroughly washed and shredded
1 leek, topped and tailed, thoroughly washed and sliced
4 shallots (french shallots), peeled and diced
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs plain flour
25g unsalted butter
1 egg, whisked
1 cup milk
1/2 cheddar cheese grated
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
shortcrust pastry, puff pastry or filo pastry
egg wash or milk wash

In a large pot, add olive oil and shallots and leeks and fry on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until softened.

Add the silverbeet and fry until wilted and most liquid has evaporated.

Meanwhile, make the white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add flour and stir over heat to combine.

Add a generous pinch of pepper and a very generous pinch of salt, stir to combine.

Heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken. You want a very thick white sauce for this recipe.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced).

When most of the liquid from the silverbeet mixture has evaporated, remove from heat.

Spoon half of the spinach mixture into your food processor and process until smooth. Return to the pan with the remaining silverbeet and stir to combine. Add the thick white sauce to the silverbeet mixture and stir to combine.

Add the cheese and egg to the pan and stir until well combined.

I mix up how I finish these off as pies or rolls. If I have shortcrust pastry, I will make mini pies in mini pie tins (10cm diameter tins). If I have filo I will make filo triangles. If I have puff pastry I usually make spinach rolls. If you are making rolls, you will need to seal the ends to create parcels to prevent the filling from escaping.

Make sure that if you are making pies, that you create a good vent in the pie lid to enable the steam to escape and to allow the pastry to become crisp and not soggy.

In order to seal two pastry edges, slightly wet one of the edges then press gently together to seal. Use wet hands to wet the edge or seam but then dry hands to press together otherwise pastry can become sticky.

Brush the rolls/pies with egg wash either egg and water combined and whisked, milk, or egg and milk combined and whisked.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until cooked, depending on the size and shape of the rolls/pies.

You can make vegan pies by removing the egg, cheese and white sauce. You will need to process the entire silverbeet mixture if you are doing this to create the creamy texture. Also add 1 tbs semolina to the silverbeet mixture if omitting the dairy products.

If you are making a roll, it is a good idea to freeze them for 40 minutes before you bake them.

If you are making a pie with puff pastry base, blind bake the base at 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes with baking weights and 5 minutes without the weights.

For this recipe, don’t even think about putting nutmeg in your white sauce!