Evenings and weekends are precious when you're a junior doctor. Sadly mine get eaten up by work, revision, courses and those good old weekend-eater-uppers of everyone in their late 20s and early 30s- weddings and hen parties!
So to find myself with a weekend almost entirely to myself was quite the luxury, and it was with great delight that my friends Rob and Pete, who are both great bakers and food-lovers, were free to come over for dinner and a catch-up.
I've been itching to try to make Spanakopita- a Greek filo spinach and feta pie- for some time. It's one of my favourite things at Greek restaurants. However, no Greek meal is complete without a good houmous either, so I decided to make both!
Spanakopita
Ingredients: Makes 2 8" pies, each serving 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter
12 sheets filo pastry (I used Jus-Rol)
100g melted butter
200g feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion- chopped finely
1 large clove garlic- finely chopped
500g frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, drained and squeezed (must be as dry as possible)
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tiny pinch paprika
Black pepper to taste (I didn't add any salt because the feta is so salty)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat. Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft and translucent. Add the spinach, pepper, paprika and nutmeg and heat through. Leave to cool for a few minutes then drain again of any excess liquid. Add the feta and mix well, but leave a few small chunks of feta for texture.
2. To make one pie: Brush a 8" springform cake tin with melted butter. Place a sheet of pastry in the tin, allowing the pastry to hang over the sides of the tin. Brush with melted butter and add another layer of pastry. Repeat until six sheets of pastry are used up. Place half the filling in the pastry and then fold over the excess pastry that was hanging over the sides of the tin. Brush the top with melted butter and place the tin on top of the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the tin as soon as possible and place on a cooling rack after it comes out of the oven to avoid a soggy bottom. If the bottom is a bit soft when it's turned out, return it to the oven but place it directly on the oven shelf to get some air to it, and give it 5-6 minutes.
Repeat step 2 for the second pie.
Easy Quick Houmous
Ingredients:- Serves 6-8
1 400g can chickpeas, drained but reserve liquid (drained weight = 240g)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2tbsp lemon juice
50g/3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
1tbsp natural yoghurt
3/4tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
1tbsp Za'tar (a Middle-Eastern spice mix featuring thyme and sesame seeds- I used Barts')
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and black pepper to taste
Method
Place the chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, yoghurt, cumin, 1tbsp olive oil and seasoning in a food processor and blitz until quite smooth. If it is very thick, add some of the chickpea liquid until it is the consistency you like. Place in a bowl and sprinkle over the Za'tar, paprika and a drizzle of olive oil. It should keep for three days.
Both came out really well, and went down a treat! The houmous in particular was light and fresh, rather than being a bit claggy. Some recipes I've used the past use double the amount of tahini, which can make the houmous heavy if used too much.
Definitely one to make again!
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