Ingredients
- 50 g (2 ounces) butter (about 60 ml/4 tablespoons), plus extra for greasing
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 500 g (1 pound) spinach, chopped
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 200 g (7 ounces) Feta-style cheese, (about 325 ml/1-1/3 cups) crumbled
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) chopped fresh parsley
- A pinch of grated nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large sheets of phyllo pastry
Directions
- Melt half the butter in a saucepan over low heat, add the onions and garlic and cook gently for 5–10 minutes until tender.
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted, then transfer the vegetables to a mixing bowl, leaving any liquid behind in the pan.
- Mix the beaten eggs with the cheese, parsley and nutmeg, then stir into the spinach mixture and season to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a baking sheet and melt the remaining butter.
- Lay a sheet of pastry on the work surface and spoon one-quarter of the filling along one edge.
- Roll up the pastry to enclose the filling, brush with melted butter and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes until crisp and golden.
- Serve hot or cold.
Reprinted with Permission from Cheese and Dairy Made at Home and Published by Firefly Books.
In Cheese and Dairy Made at Home (Firefly Books, 2012) by Dick and James Strawbridge, readers will find tips and tricks for handling dairy products at home, as well as a number of recipes for cheese, yogurts, butter and more. This excerpt can be found in chapter 6, “Cheese.”
We’ve been enjoying this classic dish for years and somehow it still surprises us. The balance of cheese, spinach and nutmeg is never the same, no matter how often we cook it. Fortunately, we like surprises and the subtleties of a slightly larger pinch of nutmeg or a more potent cheese makes this recipe a culinary improvisation every time.