I'm in love with Jamie Oliver. His recipes anyway. A while back I bought his
Food Revolution cookbook and have made so many wonderful dishes from it, although I've only blogged about a couple of them. That cookbook quickly became my new favourite. Then for my birthday last month I received his Meals in Minutes cookbook. From looking through it, I know I have another winner.
Last weekend I made my first recipe from this book, Spinach and Feta Filo Pie, and I am happy to report it was incredibly delicious! We quickly gobbled it up. So much flavour from the crunchy pine nuts, lemon zest, salty feta, spinach, fresh nutmeg, and an unexpected bit of heat every now and then from the cayenne. I've had spinach and feta pie before but this one is my hands-down favourite.
One thing I love about this book is the fact that Jamie provides side dishes and dessert recipes to go with each main dish. For this dish, the side dishes were a cucumber salad and a tomato salad. Although we just had a fresh green salad with this, I'd love to try out his recommendations next time.
As promised by Jamie, this was a fast, easy meal.
Enjoy!
Spinach and Feta Pie
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2/3 cup pine nuts (I left mine whole, but feel free to chop them if you'd like)
5 eggs
12 ounces feta cheese
2 ounces Cheddar cheese
dried oregano
1 lemon
a pat of butter
1 pound prewashed baby spinach
12 sheets (approximately 10 ounces) phyllo pastry, thawed if frozen
cayenne pepper
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Turn the oven on to 400F. Put a medium (approximately 10-inch diameter) ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat.
Put the pine nuts 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 12 ounces of feta. Grate in 2 ounces of Cheddar. Add a pinch of pepper, a couple of pinches of dried oregano, zest of 1 lemon, and a lug of olive oil. Once the nuts are light golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well.
Put the empty frying pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil and a pat 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.
Meanwhile take the pastry out of the refrigerator. Lay a large sheet of parchment paper, approximately 20 inches long, on the worktop, rub a little olive oil all over it , then scrunch it up and lay it our flat again. Arrange 4 phyllo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt (sea salt, not table salt) and pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers. Don't worry about any cracked bits. Remember to keep stirring the spinach.
Once the spinach is really nice and dense, take the pan off the heat. Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture and grate in 1/2 a nutmeg. Mix well. Carefully move the parchment paper and phyllo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out. Fold the phyllo sheets over the top and let them fall where they will. Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
Serves 4 - 6.
Source:
Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes
NOTE: To watch Jamie make this dish, go
here.
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