Spanakopita

I developed my recipe for spanakopita years ago, in consultation with a Greek friend whose Mum made the best spanakopita I’d ever tasted. I use a 21cm (8½″) square baking dish to give four chunky serves, but use whatever size and shape you have and alternate the pastry sheets in a way to cover all of the sides as well as the base. For a more delicate presentation, and more fillo crunch, cut the fillo into long strips, place a tablespoon or so of filling at one end and fold over and over into little spinach and cheese triangles, or roll into fillo cigars. These smaller pastries will only take 15–20 minutes to bake and are great finger food for parties or as a starter. Spanakopita is likely a descendant of the traditional Greek hortopita, filled with wild greens foraged in the hills and fields – so feel free to swap out the spinach for any leafy greens including beetroot tops, nettles, chicory or dandelion. Chef Janni Kyritsis says he’s even made it with radicchio – see the video below of him making his famous wild weed pie. Janni taught me that the secrets to success with any of these Greek fillo pastry pies is to squeeze the greens well to remove excess moisture, be very generous with the olive oil, and bake until the pastry is really dark golden. I serve my spanakopita with tzatziki and a salad of mixed heirloom tomatoes and red onion for a bit of contrasting colour. And while a glass of ouzo would be appropriate, I prefer Lark Hill’s grüner veltliner, a delicious Austrian variety with the zing of riesling and some of the floral aroma of gewürztraminer. This biodynamic Canberra winery was the first to release grüner veltliner in Australia and theirs compares very favourably with the Austrian versions I’ve had. Yiasou!

Serves 4