Recipes

Spanakopita with silverbeet

Silverbeet is a good alternative to spinach for spanakopita
I recently asked the students that I work with what they would like to achieve in their kitchen garden program this year. Many of them were very eager to learn how to cook and some asked specifically to learn how to cook spanakopita.  As the school garden already had a large plot of silverbeet I thought we’d try our hand at making this traditional greek recipe with what we had on hand rather than using spinach. We also used leeks that we had growing as opposed to onions.

The recipe we used was a combination of a number of recipes that I found. You will see that it is quite simplistic however it certainly isn’t lacking in taste. Whilst there are no herbs or spices included in this particular recipe you may like to include some according to your own personal preferences. Some suggestions to try include nutmeg, dill or mint. Lemon juice is also sometimes added.
This recipe was rated very highly by both the students and teachers. Give it a try – I’m sure you will like it too.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 leek
1 bunch of silverbeet
500g creamed cottage cheese
100g feta cheese
2 eggs
60g butter
10 sheets of filo pastry
Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180oC.
  2. Remove the thick white stem from the silverbeet and finely chop the remaining green leafy part.
  3. Finely chop the leek.
  4. Heat olive oil in frypan and sauté the leek and silverbeet until it is wilted.
  5. In a large mixing bowl add the cottage cheese. Crumble the feta cheese and add to the bowl then add the two eggs. Mix all three ingredients together.
  6. Add the silverbeet mix to the egg mixture and stir.
  7. Melt the butter in a small bowl or cup.
  8. Line the bottom of the baking tray with baking paper.
  9. Layer (you may have to overlap) 5 sheets of filo pastry in the pan, lightly brushing each with melted butter before adding the next layer. Be careful to brush the edges so the pastry doesn’t dry out.
  10. Spoon the silverbeet mixture into the pan on to the pastry and spread out evenly.
  11. Layer the final filo sheets on top of the mixture, brushing with melted butter again.
  12. Bake in the oven for approximately 40-50 minutes.

Enjoy!!
What is your favourite silverbeet dish?