Pleasing Popeye and PETA: Spinach Spanakopita with Vegan Feta
“Jo showed up drunk and made me dinner,” my step-dad tells my brother, who is joining us for dinner via Skype from halfway across the world. Just a typical Sunday night with the Elsemore-Kayhoe-LaFontaine-Tate family.
Luckily this recipe is silly simple. So simple that it came out just beautifully despite the chef being several glasses pitchers of mimosas down for the count after a very bubbly brunch. It’s also yet another vegan dish that does an awfully good job of convincing even the most fanatic cheese junkie that maybe life would go on without dairy. The filling is so creamy and rich you’d swear a cow was milked somewhere in the process. But you’d be wrong.
I also know that it was popular. So popular, in fact, that this post is cutting in line big time. You see, the woman who spawned me has requested the recipe stat so that she can make another batch with the other half of the package of filo dough, and you just don’t say no to the woman who spawned you. So here it is.
Spinach Spanakopita with Vegan Feta
From Maple Spice
- 550g fresh spinach
- 150g filo pastry (about six sheets)
- 1 recipe almond feta – (I actually used cashews this time!)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 50g vegan margarine, melted
- freshly ground black pepper
- Put the spinach in a large colander and wash. Very generously pour salt over the leaves (don’t worry – this all gets washed off – it’s just to break them down) Now rub the salt into the leaves while you tear them into small pieces, keep going until it really reduces in bulk. Rinse very well and then squeeze all the excess water off. Your spinach should appear significantly reduced.
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Heat olive oil in a large frying pan; add the onion and about 20 grinds of black pepper. Gently fry until soft and slightly golden, about 7 -10 minutes.
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Scrape the fried onion into the bowl with the spinach and crumble in the feta. Stir well with a fork until the feta goes all creamy and it’s all mixed up well.
- Now prepare the pastry. In a small saucepan melt the margarine and have a brush ready.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease your pan. I used a 6.5″ x 9″ baking pan, but you can use whatever size you have – bigger and you’ll have a thinner spanakopita, smaller and you’ll have a thicker one.
- Carefully layer the filo into the pan one at a time, brushing with margarine between each sheet. Fan the sheets so they don’t lay directly on top of one another. Once you have all of your sheets in the pan, spoon the spinach mixture in and fold the filo over, adjusting so that the entire surface is covered. Brush top with margarine.
- Cook for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
