Spinach and Feta Filo Pie

Name: Spinach and Feta Filo Pie
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Baking
Ingredients: 900 g fresh or 500 g frozen spinach, fresh or frozen and thawed; 1⅓ cups (200 g) feta, crumbled; ½ cup (123 g) ricotta; 3 eggs; 4 spring onions, sliced; ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped; 1 lemon, zested; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; ½ tsp black pepper; 8 to 10 filo pastry sheets; ⅓ cup (76 g) unsalted butter, melted; 1 tbsp (9 g) sesame seeds, optional

Crackling filo layers over a lemony spanakopita filling.

Prep30 min

Cook40 min

Total1 hr 10 min

YieldServes 6

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Before you start

Spanakopita reorganised as one big dish pie: a bright filling of spinach, feta, dill and lemon under a rumpled crown of buttered filo. The single rule of filo is speed over neatness. Torn sheets disappear into the scrunch, and the scrunch is what makes the shatter. The filling must be squeezed properly dry, which is a two-hand job, not a gesture.

Method

6 steps

1
Wilt fresh spinach in batches in a dry pan (or use thawed frozen), cool, and squeeze it in fistfuls until no more liquid comes. You should extract a genuinely alarming amount of green water.
For this step
- 900 g fresh or 500 g frozen spinach
2
Chop the squeezed spinach and mix with the feta, ricotta, eggs, spring onion, dill, lemon zest, nutmeg and pepper. Taste before salting: feta usually brings enough.
For this step
- 900 g fresh or 500 g frozen spinach
- 1⅓ cups (200 g) feta
- ½ cup (123 g) ricotta
- 3 eggs
- 4 spring onions
- ¼ cup fresh dill
- 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp black pepper
3
Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Butter a 23 cm baking dish.
For this step
- ⅓ cup (76 g) unsalted butter
4
Line the dish with a filo sheet, letting it overhang, and brush with butter. Repeat with 3 more sheets at angles, buttering each.
For this step
- 8 to 10 filo pastry sheets
- ⅓ cup (76 g) unsalted butter
5
Spread the filling in, fold the overhang over it, then scrunch the remaining buttered sheets loosely on top like fabric, covering everything. Scatter the sesame seeds.
For this step
- 8 to 10 filo pastry sheets
- ⅓ cup (76 g) unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp (9 g) sesame seeds
6
Bake 35 to 40 minutes until deep gold and audibly crisp. Rest 10 minutes: filo pie cuts cleanly warm, never hot.
For this step
- 8 to 10 filo pastry sheets

Baker's tips

Work filo fast and keep the waiting sheets under a barely damp tea towel. Exposed filo turns to autumn leaves in about four minutes.
The squeeze is the recipe. Watery spinach steams the filo from below into wet tissue, and no oven heat can rescue it.

Make it your own

Add a handful of chopped olives or sun-dried tomatoes to the filling.
Swap the dill for mint, or use half and half, both being fully Greek-sanctioned.

Storing & freezing

Fridge for 3 days, reheating portions at 180°C for 10 minutes to re-crisp (never the microwave). It's also unreasonably good cold, straight from the fridge, standing up.

Frequently asked

How do you keep filo pastry from going soggy?

Dry filling, butter between every layer, and oven reheating only. For spinach pies specifically, squeezing the spinach hard is 90 percent of the battle.

Can I use frozen spinach for spanakopita?

Yes, and it's arguably easier: thaw it fully and squeeze it dry. 500 g frozen equals roughly 900 g fresh once wilted, with identical results in the pie.

Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.

A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.

Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.