400g washed baby spinach
2 medium courgettes
1 small red onion
200g Feta cheese
2 cloves garlic
Splashes of Piri-Piri
Larger splashes of Verjus
Dollop of butter to sweat the spinach
Olive oil
1 organic medium sized egg lightly beaten
Sun-dried tomatoes … the sort in a jar preserved in oil
Fine salt to sprinkle
1 packet of Filo pastry
100g pine nuts
VERJUS
METHOD
Mix in a small bowl , 5 parts olive oil to 1 of Piri Piri sauce with a dash of the oil from the sundries tomatoes
Take a 24cm cake tin, one of the ones where you can remove the side with a spring clip or line a fixed tin with greaseproof paper. Brush lightly with the mix. Line the tin with the filo pastry sheets brushing each layer as you go. Use all the sheets.
Toast the pine kernels, dry, in a frying pan. Take off the heat when golden brown & leave to one side
Put 300g of the spinach into a larger frying pan with a small dollop of butter & a splash of Pir-PIri, sprinkle lightly with salt & wilt the leaves. Place the leaves into a large mixing bowl roughly chop the Feta cheese & add. Save the liquid from the spinach.
You can now heat the oven up to
180c.
Chop the courgettes into chunky quarters, roughly chop the red onion & garlic add to the warmed spinach liquid, add a little dollop of butter , small sprinkling of salt & fry on a medium heat for 2 minutes ……. Now for the exciting bit which changes your taste buds forever!! …… Sprinkle LIBERALLY your VERJUS & wait for that wonderful aroma to lift your spirits & stimulate your foody soul!! Cook until the courgettes have soaked up the VERJUS but still have “ bite “, then add to the cheesy spinach mix.
Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes & add ….. at this stage taste & smell your mix & balance any seasoning … you may want to add more VERJUS remembering that with it’s low acidity you won’t make the mix “ tart” as with lemon juice or a conventional vinegar ….then add the uncooked spinach & beaten egg.
Pile the mix into your Filo lined tin add a generous layer of pine nuts saving some to decorate the top of the pie when cooked.
Gently fold the filo pastry leaves on top of each other, covering the filling individually brush lightly with your chilli oil mix ending with the final brushing on the top with a sprinkling of pine nuts.
Put in the oven for approx. 25 minutes checking that the pastry does not become too brown.
Take out to cool & carefully place onto a plate.
BOM APETIT !!
