Our spinach and feta pie, made with filo pastry is a regular standby recipe and one that always goes down a treat. Spinach has just come into season, so the fresh young spinach you get from the greengrocer or supermarket (or grown at home, if you’re so lucky), so this is the perfect opportunity to use it. This water-rich plant has a bitter metallic taste that pairs so well with cheese, in this recipe we use feta and cheddar.

The idea originated from a Jamie Oliver recipe, but has been tweaked over the years to suit our buying habits, tastes and saucepan size. We cook this pie in an oven-proof skillet, which allows you start the cooking process on the hob to ensure a crispy base and also makes turning out the pie easier too.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 300g spinach
• 200g feta (1 packet)
• 100g cheddar
• 100g pine nuts
• 6 sheets (1 packet) filo pastry
• Olive oil
• 6 medium eggs
• 1 tsp nutmeg – freshly grated
• Hot chilli powder
• Garlic oil

Recipe:

1. Pre-hear the oven to 180ºC
2. Prepare the spinach and pine nuts: put the latter in a frying pan over a medium with no oil, shaking regularly until golden; for the spinach add to a saucepan with a couple of glugs of garlic oil. Wilt over a medium heat, and then squash to the side of the pan with a wooden spoon to drain the excess water.
3. In a large mixing bowl, crack the eggs and beat with freshly grated nutmeg, then grate in the cheddar and crumble in the feta. Add the spinach and pine nuts and stir together until mixed.  
4. Add a few drops of olive oil to the skillet and wipe around with a piece of greaseproof paper so that the pan is lightly oiled. Then line the pan with the filo, using 2 slightly overlapping sheets to form each layer leaving the excess to drape down the side of the pan – this will be folded over the pie shortly to seal the top in. Brush with a little olive oil, and give a light sprinkling with salt, pepper and chilli powder, then repeat for the remaining 2 layers (i.e. 4 sheets of filo). 
5. Pour the pie mixture into the skillet then fold the draped filo pastry over the top to seal. Brush with more olive oil.  
6. Begin the cooking process by cooking over a medium heat for 5 minutes before transferring to the oven to bake for 45 minutes. 
7. Carefully remove from the oven, leave to cool for a few minutes before removing the cooked pie from the skillet. Cut into 4 portions and serve with a tomato and basil salad.