Easy Recipe : Vegetarian Filo Pie
How to Use Filo Pastry To Make a Tasty, Healthy Spinach Supper Dish
Easy recipe for a filo pie with step-by-step instruction for beginners who have not used filo pastry. The delicious result is bound to become a family favourite.
Filo pastry is versatile enough to be used for sweet or savoury dishes, and light enough to be enjoyed at any time. Buy it frozen from the supermarket and let it thaw overnight in the fridge.
If you have never used it before, try this fail-proof recipe and see how easy it is. The trick is to work quickly to stop it drying out. Use a good pastry brush dipped in room-temperature olive oil when brushing sheets as described below.
The combination of flavours in this recipe is delicious and you will love the extra warmth of the nutmeg. This easy recipe for spinach and zucchini pie really is good enough to serve up to friends or family.
Vegetarian Filo Pie
Serves 4 People
Ingredients
- 10oz / 300 g frozen filo pastry - thawed
- Olive oil
- Sesame seeds
- 1lb/450 g fresh baby spinach
- 8oz / 225 g grated zucchini
- 4oz/100g finely chopped green pepper
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped or crushed
- 1 tbs olive oil for brushing
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley (or 1dessertspoon dried parsley)
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- Pinch black pepper
- 1oz /25 g feta cheese, crumbled
Method
- Wash the baby spinach and place in a large saucepan with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook on a low heat until tender, for a few minutes.
- Drain and when cool, gently squeeze out excess water and chop finely.
- Heat olive oil and fry the onions and garlic until they are soft.
- Add the green pepper and fry for a further minute.
- Add the grated zucchini and fry for another minute.
- Remove from heat and stir in the spinach, parsley, nutmeg and black pepper.
- Mix well and gently stir in the crumbled feta, then leave to cool.
- On a clean, dry surface, unfold the filo pastry keeping the sheets together.
- With a sharp knife, cut the sheets in half.
- On an oiled baking tray, lay a single sheet of filo pastry, and brush with oil. Continue layering sheets, brushing with oil, until 1/3 of the pastry is layered on the baking sheet.
- Spread 1/2 the spinach and zucchini mixture onto the pastry. Leave a small space around the edges.
- Place another 1/3 of the pastry over the filling, sheet by sheet, brushing with oil as before.
- Spread remaining ½ of the mixture onto pastry, again leaving a gap at the edges.
- Place last 1/3 of the filo pastry over filling, sheet by sheet as before.
- Tuck all the edges under to seal in the filling and brush the top with oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180C / 350F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve hot with crusty bread and a salad for a tasty light vegetarian supper.
Who says healthy tasty food has to be difficult to make? For more easy vegetarian recipes try no-cook dips, delicious dhal, and baked rice
