I bought a potato masher that just skidded over the surface of a pan of potatoes and took a huge amount of effort to make not-very-smooth mash. I replaced it with a metal one which glides through the potatoes like a knife through butter - much more efficient.
I then tried a silicone piping bag. It was quite large and I filled it with buttercream to pipe a big batch of cupcakes. The more I squeezed the bag the longer it seemed to stretch and hardly any icing came out of the nozzle - exhausting and had to transfer it all to a few disposable piping bags and it was much, much easier to pipe. A silicone spatula is about the only utensil I've found useful. I can't get to grips with silicone cake moulds either - just doesn't seem right to me and pastry is so much crisper when cooked in a tin.
So, for this tasty chorizo, feta and spinach pie, it's no surprise that I've resorted to my tried and trusted metal flan tin. Filo pastry is often described a low-fat alternative to other pastries, but I have to say it tastes so much nicer and bakes much crisper and flakier when brushed with generous amounts of melted butter! If you've never used filo pastry before, keep it well covered with cling film or a damp tea towel to prevent it drying out and only remove one sheet at a time as you work with it. You won't need a whole pack for this pie but any leftovers can be well wrapped and frozen for up to 1 month.
Makes one 23cm diameter pie
Serves 5-6
Takes about 1 hour
250g chorizo cooking sausages
200g spinach, rinsed and large stalks removed
200g soft cheese (can be low-fat)
200g feta cheese, crumbled
3tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground pepper
5 sheets filo pastry (approx 100g)
50g butter, melted
2tbsp pine nuts
1 Heat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. Place the sausages in a baking tin and cook in the oven for 10-15 mins until browned and cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
2 While the sausages are cooking, place the spinach in a metal colander. Stand it in the sink and pour over a kettle full of boiling water until the spinach has wilted. Leave to drain and cool slightly
.
3 Place the soft cheese in a bowl with the feta, parsley and plenty of freshly ground pepper. There's no need to season with salt as the feta and sausages are quite salty. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze it in your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. Place the spinach on a chopping board and roughly chop. Add to the bowl and stir well to mix.
4 Line a 23cm diameter loose-bottomed flan tin with one sheet of the filo pastry, allowing the excess to hang over the sides. Brush the pastry with melted butter then place another sheet of pastry on the top, laying it at a slightly different angle to the first one. Brush with melted butter and place a third sheet of pastry on the top. Spread the cheese and spinach over the pastry, cut the sausages into pieces and scatter over the top, pressing them slightly into the cheese mixture. Fold the overhanging pastry over the filling and brush with melted butter. Ruffle the remaining two sheets of pastry, place on top of the pie and brush with the remaining butter.
5 Place the flan tin on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 mins. Scatter the pine nuts over the top and bake for a further 5 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden and the pine nuts are toasted (I added the pine nuts at the beginning and they did get a bit dark which is why I've suggested adding them after 10 mins). Serve warm or cold.
No comments:
Post a Comment