Spanakopita

I developed my recipe for this classic dish years ago, in consultation with a Greek friend whose Mum made the best spanakopita I’d ever tasted. I use a 21cm square baking dish to give four chunky serves, but use whatever size you have alternating the pastry sheets in a way to cover all of the sides as well as the base. For a more delicate presentation, and more fillo crunch, cut the fillo into long strips, place a tablespoon or so of filling at one end and fold over and over into little triangular parcels or roll into ‘cigar’ shapes. These smaller pastries will only take 15–20 minutes to bake and are great finger food for parties or as a starter. Spanakopita is likely a descendant of the traditional Greek hortopita, filled with wild greens foraged in the hills and fields. See the video below of Janni Kyritsis’ famous wild weed pie. I like to serve spanakopita with a salad of mixed heirloom tomatoes and red onion for a bit of contrasting colour. And while a glass of ouzo would be appropriate, I prefer Lark Hill’s grüner veltliner, a delicious Austrian variety with the zing of riesling and some of the floral aroma of gewürztraminer. This biodynamic Canberra winery was the first to release grüner veltliner in Australia and their’s compares very favourably with the Austrian versions I’ve had. Yiasou!

Serves 4