Delicious Filo Pie

Thursday is pie day - this is a fact. It's almost the weekend, but I still want to make something home cooked and pie is such a wonderful invention, it's like a reward for getting this close to the end of the week.

This is one of my favourite pie recipes. It uses filo pastry, which I'm a big fan of because of the crunchy texture, and feta which - as anyone who reads my blog regularly will know - I may have a mild addiction to. Ok, maybe not so mild...

Lots of people seem unwilling to cook with filo pastry and while making your own is a hassle, the shop bought stuff works beautifully and is very easy to put together, as long as you make sure you don't tear it!

I served this as a side to some greek style kebabs along with a pomegranate salad at this year's New Years Eve party, so you could of course eat it alongside other dishes.

This will serve 4, or 6 as a side dish. It takes about an hour in total to cook.

Feta and Spinach Filo Pie
1 tbsp good olive oil
1 onion
400g spinach
1 tsp nutmeg
400g feta
10g butter/margarine
260g ready made filo pastry

1. Chop the onion and fry in a saucepan with the olive oil for 30 seconds.
2. Gradually add the spinach, handful by handful, until it has all wilted. Then stir in the nutmeg and a good pinch of black pepper and turn off the heat. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
3. Cut the feta into small chunks and put into a large bowl. Drain any excess liquid from the wilted spinach, then tip into the bowl with the feta and combine well.
4. Put the margarine or butter into a saucepan and melt over a low heat.
5. Take a large ovenproof dish and brush (using a pastry brush) a little of the margarine all over the inside.
6. Unroll the filo pastry, then count the amount of sheets you have. I had 6, so I used 4 for the base and 2 for the lid. You'll always need more for the base to strengthen it.
7. Brush the first sheet of pastry with margarine and lay across the ovenproof dish, pressing it gently into the edges. Continue with the remaining base sheets until the base and sides of the dish are covered, with a good overlap over the sides.
8. Tip in the feta and spinach and spread gently and evenly.
9. Brush the remaining sheets of pastry with margarine and lay on top of the filling, then fold over the overlap from the under layers until you have a lovely parcel. Brush the entire top with margarine.
10. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the pie is golden.

It's a little more complicated than my usual recipes, but worth it!