Spinach

Himself had organised a bobcat to come and remove some concrete from the back yard of our new house.  When I found out that they had to drive over the English spinach patch to get to the back corner I have never moved so fast in my life.  I pulled up all that I could before they got there and ran it over.  I kept all of the tiny leaves and washed them to make a salad with fresh tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and olives.  The larger leaves were washed and lightly cooked and made into a spinach pie (Spanakopita to my Greek friends).  You can serve this either as a main meal with a salad or cut into smaller pieces for picnics or parties.  This is one of my very favourite vegetarian dishes.  Any leftover spinach can be blanched and frozen for later use, this dish doesn't have to be made with freshly cooked spinach.

Wash 1.5 kg spinach, remove large centre stalks.  Lightly steam in boiling water until slightly wilted.  Remove from heat and immediately cool by rinsing under cold water.  Squeeze out extra moisture and chop.  Cook 1 chopped white onion and 10 chopped spring onions in olive oil until softened and allow to cool.  Meanwhile mix 250g ricotta, 200g fetta, 5 eggs, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 1 tablespoon chopped dill, 1/4 cup chopped parsley and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a large bowl.  Add to chopped spinach with onion mixture and season with salt and pepper.  Grease a pie dish and line with a couple of sheets of filo pastry.  Apologies to the traditionalists, but instead of brushing with melted butter between each sheet I simply spray with some canola oil.  Pile the spinach mixture in and then cover with another couple of sheets of canola sprayed filo.  Tuck the edges into the sides of the dish so it is nice and neat.  Score top with a sharp knife on the diagonal so you end up with a diamond pattern.  Give it a final spray with canola and cook in a moderate oven for approximately 40 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy the extra long weekend and hope you all come back and visit next week!