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| Spinach |
“What are we having WITH the salad?” asked one of
the teens as we basked in the evening sunshine for yet another meal in the garden.
“With it? Umm..?”
I hastily retreated to the cool of
the kitchen and hunted through the fridge.
As this mini
heat wave continues I am happy to eat salad every day, however the rest of the
family need a little more than this.
So after a variations of salads; nicoise, mixed beans,
quinoa and pasta to name but a few, and ample portions of tomato tart (see May
th post for recipe) I went down to the
local market in search of inspiration.
There I saw bundles of fresh local spinach.
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| Spinach |
OK I know we can get spinach all year round in
plastic bags in every supermarket, but it’s in season now and the local stuff
is delicious.
If it’s good enough for Popeye, it’s good enough for us. Packed with vitamins, A, K, C, and B2 its excellent for magnesium and iron as well.
Just what we all need.
With that in mind I decided to make a spinach and
mozzarella pie.
It’s inspired by Greek spinach and feta pie but
certain fussy eaters chez nous aren’t wild on feta and so I have adapted it for
mozzarella and it’s delicious.
I also love this recipe because it works well warm the
day you make it or cold the next day.
It is also possible to make it in about half an hour, always a bonus.
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| Spinach and mozzarella pie |
SPINACH AND MOZZARELLA PIE
This is my version of the Greek spinach and feta pie
but as half the family don’t like feta we have adapted it for mozzarella and
find it works really well. I think it is delicious with either.
Preparation time 10-15 minutes
Cooking time15- 20 minutes
You will need a frying pan, bowl and 9 inch loose
bottom tart tin
INGREDIENTS:
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic
450g spinach
1 pack of mozzarella
Handful of pinenuts
Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
1 pack of filo pastry
25-50g melted butter
Olive oil for frying
Salt and pepper to season and sesame seeds to
scatter on the top.
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| Wilting spinach |
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| Spinach and mozzarella tart ready to cook |
WHAT TO DO:
1. Slice
the onion and garlic thinly and fry in the olive oil for 3 minutes.
2. Wash
the spinach and then add to the frying pan to wilt this will take about 4
minutes the turn off. Drain off any extra moisture and let it cool slightly.
3. In
a bowl mix the cheese, pine nuts and nutmeg and mix well.
4. Now
get the pastry ready. Melt the butter and then brush the tin with it then lay
one of the sheets of filo on it. Brush this with the melted butter and add
another sheet of filo.
Lay them round in a pattern so you aren’t always putting
the sheets in the same place. Lay about 6 – 8 sheets in the same way.
5. Now
put the spinach mixture into the bowl with the cheese stir well and then put it
in the pastry case.
6. Once
it’s all packed in start to layer the remaining sheets of pastry on top
brushing the layers with butter until you have used them up.
7. Seal
the edges with butter and tuck in then brush the top with the remaining butter. Scatter with sesame seeds and place in the oven for 15- 20 minutes until
golden.
This can be eaten hot, cold or warm!!
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| Spinach and mozzarella pie |
If you want to be super healthy serve this with a
generous portion of watercress.
To quote an academic friend who knows about
these things..
“The chemicals in this little leaf (watercress) have been shown
to stop the signalling molecules that lead to the formation of breast cancer
cells- so keep eating.”
Sounds like excellent advice to me.
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