Ingredients

Serves 4-6

Spanakopita
Olive oil
800 g–1 kg spinach or silver beet
6–8 spring onions, chopped
125 g Bulgarian fetta, crumbled
500 g cottage cheese
3–4 tbsp kefalotyri cheese or parmesan, grated
50 g tasty cheese, grated
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
250 g filo pastry
80 g butter, melted
2–3 tbsp sesame seeds

 

Blood Plum & Vanilla Yoghurt Ices
Makes 8 small icy poles


5 ripe blood plums
2 tbsp agave syrup (or 1½ tsp raw caster sugar)


Vanilla yoghurt
250g plain natural yoghurt
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (or scrape the inside of 2 vanilla pods)
1-2 tbsp honey

 

Method

Maggie’s Spanakopita
I liken this recipe to the Pied Piper because whenever my mum, Maggie, or I make it, my brother spontaneously turns up at our door.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly oil a 35 cm x 25 cm baking dish.

Wash the spinach well and cut off and discard the stems. Shake any excess water from the leaves, then chop coarsely and place in a colander or strainer. Pour over boiling water, then rinse under cold water to retain the colour. Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place the spinach in a large bowl.

Heat one tablespoon oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the spring onion and fry gently for about 5 minutes until soft. Transfer the contents of the pan to the bowl with the spinach and stir in the cheeses, eggs, parsley and nutmeg. Season with pepper to taste. Mix well.

Line the baking dish with 5 sheets of filo pastry, brushing each sheet with melted butter after you lay it in the dish. Add the spinach filling and spread it around evenly. Cover with 6 sheets of filo pastry, again brushing each sheet with melted butter. Wet your hands with water and flick your fingers to moisten the top layer of filo. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Make 6 knife cuts in the pastry, being careful not to cut right to the bottom.

Bake the spanakopita for 45 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares to serve. Serve with plum sauce, a salad and small boiled potatoes tossed in butter and parsley.

 

Blood Plum & Vanilla Yoghurt Ices
Icy Poles are one of the easiest things to make and incredibly convenient to have on hand for hot summer days. You can change the plums to be raspberries or a combination of mixed berries.

Cut the plums in half and remove pip. Chop roughly and place in the blender along with agave syrup and blend well.

Pour into icy pole moulds until ¾ full. With handle end of a teaspoon, push mixture down and wiggle to remove any air bubbles. Clean around rim and top of inside icy pole mould above the plum mixture with a clean cloth or paper towel.

Place in freezer for an hour or so to let set a little before placing yoghurt mix on top.

Clean the blender and blend vanilla yoghurt ingredients together. Remove mould with plum mixture from freezer and carefully spoon/pour vanilla yoghurt over plum mixture to top of mould. Place icy pole handles in place and refrigerate overnight.

Variations
You can substitute plums for other berries or fruits such as mangoes.
Other icy pole suggestions: fresh orange juice, banana smoothie, fresh fruit and vegetable juice.