Ingredients
Baking equipment:
- rectangular shallow oven dish
- for example 25x15x3 cm
Dough:
- 225 g frozen filo pastry
- (10 sheets 25×25 cm)
Filling:
- 400 g wild spinach (450 g regular)
- olive oil
- 2 coarsely chopped spring onions
- 4 tablespoons coarsely chopped dill
- 4 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley
- pepper, salt
- 50 g coarsely chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoons tahini (seam paste)
- 4-5 tablespoons water
A dish from the meatless monastery kitchen of a Greek Orthodox abbot named Dositheos, who shared his recipes in Greek Monastery Cookery (2003). He makes something beautiful out of the simplest things. He has to, because there is so much fasting in the Greek Orthodox Church that he can mostly only fall back on time-consuming combinations. This pie is an exception to that. It is a version of Spanakópitta (spinach pie) for Great Lent, when all animal products are forbidden.
You need filo pastry for this. Any filo from a Turkish shop is fine, but do not buy a pack from a regular supermarket that states a thawing time of 30 minutes: those are stiff spring roll wrappers that produce an unpleasant hard crust.
- Thaw the dough in the packaging at room temperature for at least 2 hours; unfold it and place it under a damp cloth.
- Sauté the spinach, washed and drained, in a wide pan with a lid and some olive oil until wilted. Stir regularly. Press out the excess moisture in a sieve. Chop coarsely. Mix with seasoning, pepper, and a generous amount of salt.
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Stir the tahini with water until a smooth and custard-like consistency is achieved. Grease the baking dish with oil. Place a sheet of dough in the dish and brush with some tahini. Do this with five sheets, overlapping to cover the entire dish.
- Sprinkle the fifth layer with the nuts, top with the spinach, and cover with another 5 sheets; brush four with tahini, but the fifth with olive oil. Fold the dough that covers the side of the dish inwards. Cut into 8 squares with a sharp knife down to the bottom (including the edge). Bake on the middle rack for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown.
Wine: Rosé Côtes de Provence.
Menu suggestion:
- Starter: Stuffed zucchini. Wash two small round green zucchinis, cut off the tops, hollow them out with a potato scoop, and boil in plenty of water for 5 minutes. Drain and let cool. Fill high with a few spoonfuls of cooked chickpeas, halved pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped coriander mixed with walnut oil, lemon juice, pressed garlic, pepper, and salt. Place the top and some filling on the side.
- Dessert: Banana.
