A wilted spinach casserole encased in a filo pastry. Usually, this is made with feta cheese, however, contrary to popular belief, traditional Spanakopita is actually not made with feta at all! So here we have the vegan version that tastes just as good. What’s more, the Growhampton greens were a great twist to the traditional spinach used!
This is a surprisingly simple dish to prepare unless you are making your own filo pastry. I buy a preservative-free filo pastry and unfrozen as it handles better in my opinion.
Follow the recipe below and enjoy!
Ingredients
250g filo pastry
3 Spring onions, washed and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
750g fresh greens, washed. Or 3 cups thawed frozen greens.
2 tablespoons coconut oil + 2 tablespoons for wetting the pastry
1 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup mint, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Directions
Wilt the washed greens in 1 tbsp oil (do this in small batches if you prefer) on medium heat. Be careful not to overcook the greens - it should retain its green colour. If using frozen greens, thaw thoroughly beforehand. Drain the water completely from the cooked greens. Chop the drained wilted greens and set to one side
In a pan or wok, sauté the onions and garlic in 2 tbsp oil until soft. Then add the herbs, salt and pepper and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the chopped greens to the pan and stir well to ensure the greens have mixed with all of the ingredients. Allow to cook on medium heat for a further 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Set to one side
Separate the filo sheets carefully and place layer by layer into a baking tray. Brush each layer with oil before adding the next layer. Ideally around 6 sheets both under and over the greens will suffice. Distribute the greens mix evenly over the pastry and cover with filo pastry in the same manner as the bottom layers.
Brush the top layer with oil and score into squares, before baking in the oven for around 45 minutes until brown.