Hello all and welcome back! Your absence from my blog is entirely my fault as I have neglected my duties as blogmaster. I wish I could say this is due to holidays... I really wish! In any case I shall try to keep this up a bit more regularly.
The theme of this blog is mezzedotapas. This is a made up name of the Greek mezzes and the Spanish tapas. Oh, us Mediterranean people love our little bites of food accompanied with drinks and a lovely group of people. And let's face it, even my non Meditarranean friends enjoy it just as much. Who doesn't love having a variety of foods to pick and choose from? It can be as simple or as complicated as you wish and with the right company you can have a lovely tasty evening.
Rest assured there will be more posts on mezzedes and tapas as there are countless recipes and variations, and our household loves them very much!
Spanakotyropita with a sunblush twist.
In translation spanakotyropita is spinach and cheese pie. This is a very typical dish in Greece, and just as with the tyropitakia recipe posted a couple of posts ago, it can come in a variety of forms. I recently found a new recipe which has the addition of sundried/sunblush tomatoes. This sounds very strange to many Greek people, but trust me when I say, it's really good! And gratefully it's also very easy to make (if you manage to find filo pastry that is, not an easy task as I discovered first time round).
The ingredients:
1) In a large pot heat a bit of water and tip in the spinach bit by bit, allowing it to wilt. Add the leek, parsley, nutmeg, pepper and a tiny amount of salt. Let it simmer for around 10 to 15 minutes (again I do this by eye!). Top with splashes of water if needed, but keep in mind that the spinach and leek will also release some liquids. Once cooked, tip into a sieve and with a spoon squish some of the excess water out and let cool.
2) Preheat the oven at 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Crumble the feta into a bowl, chop the sundried tomatoes (keep the oil for later) and prepare the pastry (the trickiest part of this recipe - see tip below). Once the spinach mixture has cooled, roughly chop it and tip back into the pot, add the feta, sundried tomatoes, eggs and stir into an even mixture.
3) Oil the baking tin with the sundried tomato oil. Take a filo pastry and layer snuggly inside the tin, with one end sticking out. Oil another sheet and repeat, with the extra bit of the pastry sticking out on another side of the tin. Repeat once more.
4) Spoon in the mixture, making sure that it also sits nicely on the edges. Cover the mixture with the ends of the pastry that are sticking out, scrunching it to give it a nice effect (purely for cosmetic purposes)
5) Again with the sundried tomato oil, oil the pastry on top. Place in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes.
A nice little trick to ensure it's nice and crispy is to bake it until slightly golden. Then take out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Remove the pie from the tin, but still keeping it on the bottom of the tin and placing it in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. This double baking ensures that the sides become crispy and golden.
This pie also looks very pretty (and more impressive) when baked in a round tin.
Filo pastry tips and handling:
As mentioned earlier, filo pastry is slightly tricky to handle. It's best to take out of the fridge about 30 minutes before using (but keep it sealed in the packaging.) Take it out of the packaging right before you need to use it (this ensures it doesn't start drying out). Unfold it and cover with a dampened towel. Every time you need to take a sheet uncover, oil it quickly, peel the sheet off and cover again with the towel. Once you're done, roll up the remaining sheets and place in the packaging sealing it up with foil or cling film. I have used pastry from the same package within 2 weeks and it was fine, if only a little dry. I wouldn't really use it after 2 weeks of opening the package...
If you can't find filopastry in your ordinary supermarket, try Turkish and international supermarkets, they are bound to have it!
And lastly may I quote a great fan of this dish:
"This is the best thing I have EVER eaten!"
:p
Enjoy!
The theme of this blog is mezzedotapas. This is a made up name of the Greek mezzes and the Spanish tapas. Oh, us Mediterranean people love our little bites of food accompanied with drinks and a lovely group of people. And let's face it, even my non Meditarranean friends enjoy it just as much. Who doesn't love having a variety of foods to pick and choose from? It can be as simple or as complicated as you wish and with the right company you can have a lovely tasty evening.
Rest assured there will be more posts on mezzedes and tapas as there are countless recipes and variations, and our household loves them very much!
Spanakotyropita with a sunblush twist.
In translation spanakotyropita is spinach and cheese pie. This is a very typical dish in Greece, and just as with the tyropitakia recipe posted a couple of posts ago, it can come in a variety of forms. I recently found a new recipe which has the addition of sundried/sunblush tomatoes. This sounds very strange to many Greek people, but trust me when I say, it's really good! And gratefully it's also very easy to make (if you manage to find filo pastry that is, not an easy task as I discovered first time round).
The ingredients:
- 400g spinach
- Half a leek, chopped roughly
- Bunch of parsley, chopped roughly
- A pinch or two of nutmeg
- 200g feta
- 2 eggs
- Jar of 150-200g sundried or sunblush tomatoes in oil
- 3 sheets of filo pastry
- A baking tin with a removable bottom
1) In a large pot heat a bit of water and tip in the spinach bit by bit, allowing it to wilt. Add the leek, parsley, nutmeg, pepper and a tiny amount of salt. Let it simmer for around 10 to 15 minutes (again I do this by eye!). Top with splashes of water if needed, but keep in mind that the spinach and leek will also release some liquids. Once cooked, tip into a sieve and with a spoon squish some of the excess water out and let cool.
2) Preheat the oven at 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Crumble the feta into a bowl, chop the sundried tomatoes (keep the oil for later) and prepare the pastry (the trickiest part of this recipe - see tip below). Once the spinach mixture has cooled, roughly chop it and tip back into the pot, add the feta, sundried tomatoes, eggs and stir into an even mixture.
3) Oil the baking tin with the sundried tomato oil. Take a filo pastry and layer snuggly inside the tin, with one end sticking out. Oil another sheet and repeat, with the extra bit of the pastry sticking out on another side of the tin. Repeat once more.
4) Spoon in the mixture, making sure that it also sits nicely on the edges. Cover the mixture with the ends of the pastry that are sticking out, scrunching it to give it a nice effect (purely for cosmetic purposes)
5) Again with the sundried tomato oil, oil the pastry on top. Place in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes.
A nice little trick to ensure it's nice and crispy is to bake it until slightly golden. Then take out of the oven and let it cool slightly. Remove the pie from the tin, but still keeping it on the bottom of the tin and placing it in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. This double baking ensures that the sides become crispy and golden.
This pie also looks very pretty (and more impressive) when baked in a round tin.
Filo pastry tips and handling:
As mentioned earlier, filo pastry is slightly tricky to handle. It's best to take out of the fridge about 30 minutes before using (but keep it sealed in the packaging.) Take it out of the packaging right before you need to use it (this ensures it doesn't start drying out). Unfold it and cover with a dampened towel. Every time you need to take a sheet uncover, oil it quickly, peel the sheet off and cover again with the towel. Once you're done, roll up the remaining sheets and place in the packaging sealing it up with foil or cling film. I have used pastry from the same package within 2 weeks and it was fine, if only a little dry. I wouldn't really use it after 2 weeks of opening the package...
If you can't find filopastry in your ordinary supermarket, try Turkish and international supermarkets, they are bound to have it!
And lastly may I quote a great fan of this dish:
"This is the best thing I have EVER eaten!"
:p
Enjoy!
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