Our version of this traditional Greek pastry makes the most wonderful lunch or supper served warm from the oven, but it’s equally good served cold the next day as part of a picnic spread. We decided to make things extra speedy by using sheets of ready-made pastry, but there’s no reason why you can’t make your own, if you have the time.
Preparation time
25 minutes
Cook time
90 minutes
Serves
6 – 8
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 500g of chard leaves, roughly shredded (stalks trimmed and chopped)
- 250g of spinach, washed and roughly shredded (or use baby leaf)
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 8 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 150g of long grain rice, rinsed
- 200g of feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 bunch of dill, finely chopped
- Leaves from 3 – 4 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
- 2 Respectful eggs, lightly beaten
- 200ml of olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the pastry:
- 2x 320g sheets of puff pastry
- 1 Respectful egg, beaten (for egg wash)
- 2 tsp of fennel seeds
Method
- Place a large pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of the olive oil and when it’s hot add the diced onion, chard stalks, slivered garlic and spring onions. Season everything lightly with salt and pepper and fry, stirring regularly, for 6 – 8 minutes.
- Tip the soft onion and chard stalks out into a large mixing bowl. Add the roughly chopped chard and spinach along with the rinsed rice, crumbled feta, beaten eggs, chopped dill and mint, remaining olive oil and plenty salt and pepper. Tumble all these ingredients together well.
- Unroll your pastry sheet and roll it out a touch thinner, on a floured surface. It wants to be roughly 40cm x 25cm. Place the pastry in the base of a baking tray – about 35 x 20cm and at least 5 cm deep. It’s important that the pastry has plenty of extra hanging over the side of the tray.
- Spoon in the filling nice and evenly. Roll out the second piece of pastry and to a similar size then lay this down over the filling. Make sure that the top layer is tucked in well all the way around the chard and feta mixture.
- Use some of the egg wash to brush the edges of the overhanging pastry. Fold the over-the-top sheet and seal the two together, so the pie is fully enclosed. Brush with more egg wash over the top and scatter over the fennel seeds. Prick the surface of the pastry in several places with a knife to let the steam out.
- Bake it in an oven of 180.c (160.c) fan for 50 minutes – 1 hour.
- Allow the pie to settle for at least 25 – 30 minutes before serving.
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