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Dairy Council

Young Cook Finalist Recipes

Gold Medal Spinach and Feta Filo Pie

Servings
Serves 4–6
Chef
Tom O’Neill
School
Grosvenor Grammar School, Belfast
Teacher
Mrs J Cauflield Key Stage 4

Ingredients

50g Northern Ireland mature cheddar cheese, grated

400g spinach

300g feta cheese

1 whole nutmeg, for grating

100g pinenuts

Zest of 1 lemon

20g Northern Ireland half–fat butter

Cayenne pepper to season

1 × 270g filo pastry

4 eggs

1 tbsp Northern Ireland crème fraîche

25ml olive oil

Servings
Serves 4–6
Chef
Tom O’Neill
School
Grosvenor Grammar School, Belfast
Teacher
Mrs J Cauflield Key Stage 4

Method

Turn on the oven to 200ºC.

Place pinenuts into a dry ovenproof frying pan to toast, tossing occasionally. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and crumble in the feta cheese. Add the mature cheddar.

Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, zest of one lemon and the olive oil. Once the nuts are light golden, add them to the egg mixture and mix well.

Heat a little olive oil and the butter in a pan and wilt the spinach.

Meanwhile lay a large sheet of greaseproof paper, approx 50cm long, on the worktop, rub a little olive oil all over it, then scrunch it up and lay it out flat again. Arrange 4 filo pastry sheets in a large rectangle, overlapping at the edges, so they almost cover the paper. Rub some olive oil over them. Sprinkle over a good pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Repeat until you have 3 layers.

Add the wilted spinach to the egg mixture and grate in ½ a nutmeg. Mix well. Carefully move the greaseproof paper and filo into the empty frying pan so the edges spill over. Push it down into the sides of the pan, then pour in the egg mixture and spread it out. Fold the filo sheets over the top.

Put the pan back on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to get the bottom cooking, then put the pan into the oven on the top shelf to cook for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Serve the pie with Dauphinoise potatoes, local mixed vegetables, and crème fraîche.