The spinach in our veggie garden was going up to seed so we picked it all and put a couple of spinach dishes on the menu for this week.
There are lots of recipes for spinach and cheese pies, but this is mine. Easy peasy and perfect for a light dinner with a big salad on the side. We had coleslaw.
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large bunch of spinach (or a big packet of spinach leaves)
2 Tbs butter
1 egg
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan or cheddar cheese, or crumbled feta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
To garnish:
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbs sesame seeds
Lightly oil a shallow rectangular baking tin which is slightly smaller than the size of your pastry sheets. Preheat oven to 180° C. Remove spinach leaves from stalks and wash. Put the wet leaves in a saucepan, cover with a lid and cook until wilted – this won’t take long, just a few minutes. Drain spinach and place in food processor, then blitz with the butter until smooth. Place spinach puree in a bowl with the egg, ricotta and Parmesan or cheddar or feta. Mix well and season to taste.
Line baking tin with one sheet of pastry, cover evenly with the spinach filling, then cover with the second sheet. Crimp the edges and cut off or fold in any overhang (that’s what I did in the photo). Mark the pie into 6 or 8 servings by cutting through the top layer. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for about half an hour or until golden brown all over. Remove from the oven. To serve, cut right through.
Serve warm with a salad.
Serves 6-8
