Ricotta Spinach Pie Recipe

5 from 8 votes

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Ricotta Spinach Pie is savoury fillo pastry filled with a tasty, cheesy filling. It's a perfect vegetarian recipe for lunch, dinner and picnics. Plus this pie is a fantastic make ahead recipe.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Servings: people

Author: Marcellina

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
8 ounces (250 grams) frozen spinach (thawed )
2 cups (500 grams) fresh ricotta
¾ cup (100 grams) crumbled feta
½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (Parmesan cheese) (or Pecorino Romano cheese)
2 eggs
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
pinch salt
½ cup olive oil (extra)
20 sheets fillo (phyllo) pastry ((approx 13 ounces/375 grams))
1 egg (for egg wash)
pinch salt (extra)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF./180ºC Line a large baking pan or pizza pan with non stick baking paper.
Finely chop onion and garlic.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook until golden. Set aside to cool.
Squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the defrosted spinach.
Mix spinach with the cooled onion mixture, ricotta, crumbled feta, grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (Parmesan) or pecorino Romano cheese, eggs, grated nutmeg, salt.
Follow all the tips listed below when using fillo pastry.
Take 4 sheets of fillo pastry brushing some of the ½ cup olive oil between each sheet.
Spoon about 1/5 of the mixture along the long side, roll up and twist into a coil onto the prepared baking tray. Don't panic if it splits a little - this is rustic cooking!
Continue this way until you have used up all the pastry and filling and your pie looks like a large coiled sausage.
Beat extra egg with extra salt. Brush the pie with egg getting into all the joins. Be liberal and make sure to use all of the egg.
Bake it for 1 hour by then it should be crispy brown all over and the gorgeous smell should be invading your house. Now you know it's ready.
Let it cool a little then cut it into generous wedges.

Notes

I use Antoniou Fillo (13 ounce/375 gram packet), found chilled at the grocery store. Each pack offers around 20 sheets, measuring roughly 11 inches x 16 inches (27cm by 40cm). Brands may vary in sheet size, but a large rectangle is ideal.

Here's how to achieve fillo success:

Thaw pastry in its packaging at room temperature (2 hours chilled, 4 hours frozen).
Prep all ingredients beforehand to minimize delays.
Unroll pastry onto a kitchen towel, cover with plastic wrap and another towel.
In dry climates, dampen a kitchen towel and place it over the plastic wrap.

Recipe Variations:

This is more of a method than a set recipe. Feel free to adapt the ingredients to your liking!

Skip frying the onion - simply add a cup of chopped spring onions directly to the filling.
Substitute spinach for any greens you have on hand, like chard or kale. Follow the same cooking instructions.
For a flavorful twist, incorporate chopped herbs like parsley or mint.
Adjust the cheese blend - use more feta than ricotta, or increase the Parmigiano Reggiano. Experiment to find your favorite combination!

Nutrition