#readcookeat challenge : Spanakopita (inspired by When The Cypress Whispers)

When I wrote my round-up of all the fabulous Greek dishes mentioned in When The Cypress Whispers by Yvette Manessis Corporon (read my review of the book here), I couldn't decide which one to try for the #readcookeat challenge because they all sounded divine ! In the end, I opted for Spanakopita, a spinach and feta filo pie. It's usually a vegetarian dish, but I added some bacon to keep Madhouse Daddy happy because French people just don't do vegetarian food ! I also couldn't get hold of feta so I used mozzarella and I replaced filo with brick, but in spite of all my changes, it was still a resounding success. The kids first turned their noses up when they saw it on the plate, but after tempting them to taste a mouthful, they wolfed it down and asked for seconds !

 Spanakopita

ingredients :

250g bacon lardons or pancetta

1 large onion, chopped

400g spinach, fresh or frozen

10cl crème fraîche

1tbsp Garlic Italian Seasoning (or any herbs of your choice)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

150g mozzarella or feta

6 sheets filo or brick

melted butter or cooking mist

Gently fry the onion and bacon.

Add the spinach and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the cream and heat, stirring, until it is all blended and the cream has reduced. Add the eggs and cook, stirring, for a further 2 minutes. Dot over the cheese and leave on a very low heat for a couple of minutes until it melts.

Add the seasoning (and salt if needed - the bacon made it salty enough for us), stir and leave to cool.

Prepare the filo. Place three sheets on top of each other, brushing melted butter on top of each sheet (or I used Lurpak Cooking Mist) before adding the next one.

I originally planned on folding it all in on itself to make a sealed rectangular pastry pie, but the brick sheets were slightly too small so I left them unfolded and spread the spinach mixture over the total surface. Place three more filo sheets, as before, on top.

Spray/brush the top sheet with butter and place in a preheated oven at 180° for 15-20 minutes  until it's golden brown and crispy.

Chop into slices and serve with salad and tomatoes. (I also added a pouch of microwavable rice on the side, in case the kids didn't like it, but this wasn't really needed in the end.)

Fancy "cooking the books"? Head on over to the #readcookeat challenge at Chez Maximka and Cooking Around The World

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

#readcookeat challenge : Newfoundland cuisine (inspired by Beneath The Surface)

#ReadCookEat recipe : Lemon scones (inspired by Above All Things by Tanis Rideout)

#ReadCookEat recipe : Mango Vinegar Prawn Salad, inspired by Craig Robertson's Last Refuge