SPANAKOPITA OF GARDEN GREENS BY CHERIE HAUSLER
Serves 4 – 6
120 g (4 oz) frozen filo pastry (about 8 sheets)
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1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) mixed greens, such as cavolo nero, silverbeet (Swiss chard), spinach, curly kale
40 g (1 ½ oz) fresh herbs, such as marjoram, rosemary, thyme, parsley
100 g (3 ½ oz) kale tips, if available
45 g (1 ½ oz) Wholefood Vegie Stock Paste (SEE BELOW)
30 ml (1 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
200 g (7 oz) Almond Ricotta (SEE BELOW)
5 g (2 ½ teaspoons)
smoked paprika
80 g (2 ¾ oz) Turmeric Butter (SEE BELOW)
Anything baked in pastry will always get my attention, especially in winter when our vegie garden is groaning with greens — spinach, cavolo nero, silverbeet (Swiss chard) and curly kale are punctuated by bunches of parsley, marjoram, thyme and rosemary, and they all go into this spanakopita in varying ratios.
A more recent discovery has been kale tips — the little green buds that form as kale cycles through its growing stages. If you catch them before they bloom into little yellow flowers, they are so good in any recipe that calls for greens. For a few years now, I’ve purposely been allowing some kale plants to go ‘to seed’ just so I can get my hands on these little tippy bits to use in pasta dishes, soups, salads and even on top of pizza. Don’t worry, this recipe will certainly still meet your daily chlorophyll requirements without them, but if you are growing kale in your garden, it’s a chance to enjoy these little flower buds, rather than see their emergence as a sign the plant has reached the end of its life cycle. They’re another gift from the garden that can’t be found in stores, making them all the more precious — another reason to grow a little patch of homegrown greens.
Thaw the pastry on the bench, under a damp tea towel so it doesn’t dry out.
Preheat your oven to 200ºC (400ºF). Dig out a pie dish or enamel pan, ideally measuring about 32 cm x 20 cm (13 in x 8 in), and about 6 cm (2 ½ in) deep.
Remove the larger, tougher stems from the greens. Roughly chop the leaves into strips about 2 cm (¾ in) wide. Finely chop the herbs and mix together with the chopped greens and kale tips (if using).
Heat a large saucepan and fry the stock paste in the olive oil for 1–2 minutes, stirring often. Add the chopped greens and herbs; you may need to do this in batches, to fit all the greens in your pan. Continue cooking to wilt the greens down, stirring to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. As soon as the greens have softened, but before the mixture is mushy, remove from the heat and stir the almond ricotta and paprika through. Set aside to cool.
Melt the butter in a small pan over high heat. Brush your pie dish with the melted butter. Lay two filo sheets across the base and up the sides. Brush those pastry sheets with melted butter. Lay another two sheets on top, at a right angle. Brush those with butter and place another two sheets on top, again at a right angle.
Fill the pastry with the cooled greens and ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Wrap the pastry over the mixture, like an envelope, sealing with a little more melted butter; if you like, you can scrunch up the last two sheets of filo, to make the top of the pie a little fancier. Brush the top of the pastry with more melted butter. Add a final sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Turn the oven down to 180° C (350°F). Bake the spanakopita for 20–25 minutes, until nicely browned. Serve hot, while the pastry is still lovely and crisp. It’s wonderful with the Purple Carrot, Fig & Pearl Barley Salad on page 98.
ALMOND RICOTTA
Makes about 900g (2lb)
GLUTEN FREE
400 g (14 oz) almonds, no skins, soaked in cold water overnight
220 ml (7 ½ fl oz) water
100 g (3 ½ oz) coconut cream
8 g (2 teaspoons) salt
2 probiotic capsules (dairy-free powder)
Place the almonds, water, coconut cream and salt in a high-speed blender. Carefully prise the probiotic capsules open and pour the powder into the blender. (Discard the actual capsules — you don’t want those in the ricotta!) Blend until very smooth and silken, using an agitator to continually move the mixture down towards the blade, if your blender has one; this might take 3–5 minutes. Rest your blender if it gets too hot.
Scoop the blended paste into a clean, dry porcelain or glass bowl and cover with muslin (cheesecloth) to allow it to breathe. Leave at room temperature overnight to ferment.
Next morning, you should smell a lovely ‘cheesy’ aroma, telling you the probiotics have worked. There may even be some air bubbles in the mixture, depending on how warm the room was overnight. Taste the ricotta and, if it’s to your liking, seal in sterilised jars and store in the fridge. For a stronger flavour, you can leave it for up to 4 more hours and taste again, but the total fermentation time shouldn’t exceed 24 hours, or it will start getting too funky.
The ricotta is ready to use as soon as it is cold, and will continue to develop in flavour as it ages in the fridge. Use it on everything!
TURMERIC BUTTER
Makes about 275 g (9 ½ oz)
GLUTEN FREE
230 g (8 ½ oz) coconut oil, cold from the fridge.
30 ml (1 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil, cold from the fridge
5 g (1 teaspoon) salt
5 g (1 teaspoon) nutritional yeast flakes
1 g (¼ teaspoon) ground turmeric
Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blitz until smooth. The colder they are before you start, the better your butter will be. You don’t want the mixture to get any hotter than about 20° C (70°F). Starting with cold ingredients will allow the butter to be whipped and aerated longer in the blender, so it’ll be softer and more luscious when you spread it.
Jar immediately and refrigerate. The butter will keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 6 months.
VEGIE STOCK PASTE
Makes just over 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) of paste
GLUTEN FREE
250 g (9 oz) leeks
200 g (7 oz) fennel
200 g (7 oz) carrots
250 g (9 oz) celery
100 g (3 ½ oz) parsley, roughly chopped
100 g (3 ½ oz) coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
60 g (2 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil
10 g (1/3 oz) garlic cloves (about 2 cloves), peeled
35 g (1 ¼ oz) salt
Wash the leeks really well, then trim and cut into rounds. Thoroughly wash the fennel and carrots, leaving the skin on the carrots, and cut into 2–3 cm (¾ – 1 ¼ in) chunks, along with the celery.
Place all the ingredients, except the salt, in a food processor.
Blitz until the mixture has the consistency of a fresh curry paste; it won’t be perfectly smooth, because you don’t want soup. Leave a bit of texture in there, but just make sure there are no obvious large bits of any ingredients. Add the salt and blitz again just to mix through.
Immediately seal in jars and store in the fridge, where it will keep for about 6 months. So much goodness in each spoonful!
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