Spanakopita

Method

1. Thaw frozen phyllo overnight in the fridge and keep it in its wrapper until you need it; it dries out and cracks within minutes in the air. Wash the spinach in plenty of cold water, discard thick stems and chop it into 2 cm pieces. Finely chop the onion and slice the spring onions, including most of the green parts.

2. Heat the oil for the filling in a 24 cm frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and spring onions and cook for 5 min, stirring, until soft and translucent but not browned.

   Add in this stepExtra virgin olive oil (for the filling) 1½ tbspOnion ½Spring onions 3

   medium heat

3. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat and add the spinach a handful at a time with the salt, stirring until each handful wilts before adding the next. Cook for 4 min in total, until the spinach has collapsed and most of the liquid has evaporated. Tip it into a colander, let it cool for 10 minutes, then squeeze it hard with your hands to get rid of as much water as possible; wet spinach makes a soggy pie.

   Add in this stepFresh spinach 400 gSalt ½ tsp

   medium-high heat

4. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Crumble the feta into a large bowl, add the eggs and beat with a fork, then stir in the squeezed spinach mixture, dill, parsley and a good grind of black pepper. Feta is already salty: if you want more salt, taste a little before adding the eggs.

   Add in this stepFeta cheese 150 gEggs 2Fresh dill, chopped 2 tbspFlat-leaf parsley, chopped 1 tbspBlack pepper to taste

5. Brush a 20×15 cm baking dish with oil. Unroll the phyllo and cover it with a clean, slightly damp tea towel. Lay in one sheet, letting it hang over the sides (fold it if it is much bigger than the dish), brush it lightly with oil and repeat with half the sheets. Spread the filling evenly, fold the overhang over it, then cover with the remaining sheets, brushing each one with oil. Tuck the edges down the sides, brush the top generously and score it into portions with a sharp knife, cutting only through the top layers.

   Add in this stepPhyllo (filo) pastry sheets, thawed 6Extra virgin olive oil (for brushing) 3 tbsp

6. Bake in the oven (oven) for 35 min, until deep golden and crisp on top and the base sounds hollow when tapped; if the top browns too fast, cover it loosely with foil. Let it rest for 10 min so the filling sets before you cut along the scored lines.

   oven