Spinach and Cheese Triangles

These spinach and cheese triangles are made with filo pastry – a delicious casing for all sorts of fillings, meat and vegetable alike. So use this recipe as a starting point for your own creations: combine ricotta, haloumi, akawi or any Middle Eastern white cheese with chicory, herbs or any leafy greens. It’s important to wilt leafy greens well and squeeze out as much liquid as possible so that the filling doesn’t make the pastry soggy; fresh herbs can just be stirred through the cheese without wilting. These spinach and cheese triangles are best eaten as soon as they’re baked, as they tend to go soggy if reheated. Serve them with a Greek salad (see video below), some tzatziki, olives and pickles for a simple mezze. I love a glass of southern Italian varietal fiano with these mini-spanakopita, especially the Luccio from Pikes in the Clare Valley. You can also use this recipe to make a large tray of spanakopita.

Makes 9 pieces

Ingredients

3 sheets filo pastry
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (30ml)
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
Salt flakes, to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
150g baby spinach (5½oz)
100g brined sheep’s milk cheese (such as Feta), crumbled (3½oz)
1 tablespoon currants, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
50g butter, melted (2oz)

Method

Remove filo pastry from the fridge and set aside in the box to come to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add onion and a small pinch of salt (remember the cheese is salty) and cook for about 10 minutes, until just starting to colour.
Add garlic, and coriander and stir for a minute or so, until aromatic.
Meanwhile, wash spinach, drain well then place in the frying pan over low–medium heat, cover and cook for a minute or so then stir until completely wilted and soft.
Tip into a colander and set aside until cool enough to handle then squeeze to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
Chop and place in a bowl with cheese.
Drain currants, add them to the bowl and mix to combine everything very well.
Shape into 9 balls of roughly equal size.
Remove filo from box and place under a clean, dry cloth (returning any excess to the fridge inside its original packaging).
Working with 1 sheet at a time, place it vertically on a clean, dry work bench and brush with butter. Cut vertically into 3 long strips of equal width.
Place a ball of the spinach mixture on the top right of one strip and fold the top left corner across it to form a triangle, gently pushing the filling into a triangular shape under the flap of filo.
Fold the triangle forward then over to the left maintaining the triangular shape. Keep folding the triangle down the strip of filo until all the pastry is wrapped around the filling.
Place on a baking paper-lined baking tray.
Repeat with remaining filo and spinach mixture.
Brush triangles with butter all over, ensuring they end up seam side down.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until dark golden.
Serve spinach and cheese triangles hot.

Share page on:

Greek Salad

Spinach & Cheese Triangles FAQ

Can you make spinach and cheese triangles ahead of time?

Spinach and cheese triangles are best assembled, cooked and eaten straight from the oven while the filo is still crisp and flaky.

The filo tends to go soggy if left to sit for long uncooked, so assemble them no more than an hour before baking. To prevent them drying out, keep them covered with a clean cloth until they go into the oven.

And bake them just before serving for best results.

Can you use puff pastry instead of filo for spinach and cheese triangles?

Puff pastry will work as a substitute but gives a very different result – thick, buttery and soft rather than the thin, crisp, layered texture that makes filo triangles so distinctive.

For the best spinach and cheese triangles, filo is the right pastry – but if you’d like to use puff pastry follow the folding method used in these mushroom and cheese pies and make little domes instead of triangles.