Spinach & 3 cheese phyllo pie
You only use 4 sheets of phyllo to make this so it’s not as indulgent as you think. I used a LOT of spinach too, around 36-40 large leaves stripped from their stems. Baby spinach is wonderful, but I like the firmer large-leaf spinach more for this. It adds more texture to the dish.
The cream cheese binds the mixture together adding creaminess and the grated halloumi and Parmesan add saltiness and flavor. You can use Pecorino if you prefer or even a very mature Cheddar. I don’t think it really matters too much. I’ve used a combination of leeks and onion and added finely chopped fennel stalks and a few leaves as I always have these around and leftover without a use. Use dried or fresh dill, fresh mint and a lot of fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Ingredients:
- 2 very large bunches of spinach, about 36 – 40 stems (leaves washed stripped from stalk)
- Olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 leeks, washed, trimmed, and finely chopped (white and pale green part only)
- 2 fennel stalks (and a few leaves) finely chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp dried dill or 2 tsp fresh (finely chopped)
- Finely grated zest from half a lemon plus its juice
- ½ cup cream cheese (about 125gm)
- 110gms halloumi cheese – grated (about 1 heaped cup)
- 30 gms of finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (about a 1/3 cup)
- Large bunch of parsley, chopped (about 20-25gms)
- 10 mint leaves, finely chopped
- Salt & pepper
- 4 sheets of phyllo pastry
- About 3 Tbs butter, melted
- 1 Tbsp (aprox) white and or black sesame seeds