Vegan Spanakopita

Spanakopita literally means spinach pie in Greek – the feta is supposed to be an optional extra but it’s hard to imagine it without that hit of cheesy goodness!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil (plus olive oil or melted vegan butter for brushing pie tins and filo)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 large leek, washed and finely chopped

2 teaspoons dried dill (or parsley or mint)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1½ teaspoons vegetable stock powder

Freshly ground black pepper

Large bunch fresh spinach (or silverbeet)

50g Angel Food feta, roughly chopped

Filo pastry

Sesame seeds

Instructions:

1.        Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat.

2.        Add the onions and leek.

3.        Wash and drain the spinach. Chop the stalks finely and add to the onions and leek in the pan. Chop the leaves finely and set aside.

4.        Sauté onion, leek and spinach stalks until well cooked, about 10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning.

5.        Add dill, nutritional yeast, vegetable stock powder and spinach leaves. Cook for a

couple of minutes until spinach is done and there is no moisture left in the pan.

6.        Stir in the feta and remove from heat.

7.        Brush 4 individual pie dishes with olive oil and preheat oven to 180°C.

8.        Cut filo sheets to drape generously over the pie dish. Brush a sheet with oil

and lower into the pie dish, easing it into the corners with the brush. Do

this with 4 sheets for each pie dish. Divide the leek, spinach and feta mixture between the four dishes and level the tops. Carefully lift the filo that is draped over the edges and scrunch it onto the top edge of the filling.

9.        Brush another sheet for each tin with oil, crumple it and place on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

10.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes, turning after 10 minutes for even baking, until the top is golden brown and crisp.

Notes:

Feel free to go non-traditional and use other vegetables instead of, or as well as, the spinach and leek.

You could also make this in a large pie dish, or in folded individual triangles, or if you want to be fancy, in a coil (you’ll have to YouTube that one!).