Spinach & Feta Parcels
I have an abundant rainbow chard plant in my garden. It lives on neglect. And thrives! Every few weeks, I hack at it and make something for dinner - gozleme, spanakopita, these spinach & feta parcels!
Spinach is a highly underrated leaf. It provides much needed sneaky greens. Or not so sneaky sometimes too.
Case in point here. This recipe makes 6 large parcels (one per person).
Serves 6
500g spinach, washed (spinach, chard, silverbeet - I say anything goes here!*)
120g flat leaf parsley
60g dill
2 eggs, beaten
200g fetta, crumbled
100g sour cream
100g cheddar cheese, grated
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp dried oregano
A good cracking of black pepper
100g butter, melted
18 sheets of fillo pastry (I use Antoniou)
Tomato Relish to serve
Place the spinach, parsley and dill in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Once bubbling, remove from the heat and drain. When cool enough to handle, squeeze as much excess water out as possible. Transfer to a board and chop coarsely. Place in a large bowl.
Add the beaten eggs, fetta, sour cream and grated cheese, the garlic, lemon zest, oregano and pepper. Use a fork to stir and combine well.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, fan-forced, and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
Using a pastry brush, brush one sheet of fillo liberally with melted butter, then place a second sheet on top and brush again with more butter. Place a third sheet on top and then spoon one 6th of the green mixture into the middle.
Now use your best Christmas present wrapping skills to wrap up the parcel, brushing any seems with butter to seal it up! You can really create any shape parcel you like here! It’s a ‘hand-pie’! Place the parcel, seem side down on the baking tray.
Repeat five more times (using three sheets of pastry for each parcel).
Brush the tops of the parcels with any remaining butter and then bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden and crisp.
Serve with a crunchy green salad and a BIG DOLLOP of Tomato Relish!
*If you use chard or silverbeet, just cut out the majority of the hard spine (before cooking) and feed it to the chooks!
