Spanokopita (Greek spinach pie) with Abbie

I've been asking for vegetarian recipes and family recipes, and the lovely Abbie (who is writing about music at Music for my Generation) came through with this fantastic comfort food, passed down from her Greek relations.


Spanokopita is a filo pastry pie, filled with spinach and cheese (unfortunately it's not vegan). It's delicious, very filling and can be made in a huge batch then frozen for later, it can be eaten as a meal all by itself or cut into bitesize pieces for a meze platter or buffet.

To make it you will need;
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 kilo spinach (we used frozen)
1 teaspoon each basil and oregano - these can be dried or fresh
2 eggs (the recipe will work without these if you add more ricotta)
125g ricotta cheese
250g crumbled feta cheese
- it's not in the traditional recipe, but we also added some cheddar
8 sheets filo pastry
olive oil

Lightly oil a 23cm square baking tin

Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until they are soft.

Add in the spinach and cook until it has all wilted. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.


In a bowl, mix together the eggs, ricotta and feta. Add in the basil and oregano.

It'll look a lot like egg mayo at this point.

Line the bottom of the baking tin with a sheet of filo, and brush it with a little oil. repeat this with the next three sheets. They'll be big enough to overhang the pan, but don't trim them, they're there to keep the filling in.


You can mix the cheese mixture and the spinach together, but we layered them. Spread out about half of the spinach in the pan, layer the cheese mixture on top, and then add the last of the spinach. We then added some more grated cheddar on top of that.

Lay another sheet of filo on top and brush with oil. Tuck the overhanging pastry in to keep the filling in. Repeat with the remaining filo sheets. Top with a little more cheese.


Bake the whole lot for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, and serve.


It takes about an hour to put this all together and cook it, but a batch will freeze beautifully, and you can grab a slice and simply microwave it in 2-3 minutes. Because you only need a little piece, each batch will last for ages too.

Vegetarian month: ten vegetarian facts

March is Animal Aid's vegetarian month, an opportunity for them to spread the word about the advantages of a vegetarian lifestyle.
I'm not a vegetarian, and I wouldn't presume to tell anyone else that they should or shouldn't be, but here's some interesting facts about vegetarian diets;

1 - There are lots of different sorts of vegetarian diets. A 'true vegetarian', more usually referred to as a vegan will not eat any animal products including eggs, dairy, and even honey; pescatarians will eat fish (and sometimes chicken); lacto-ovo vegetarians won't eat meat but will eat eggs and dairy.

2 - It's not always obvious what is and isn't vegetarian. Most of the meat flavours of Walkers crisps contain no animal products, but, before a recipe change in 2003 the cheese in their cheese and onion flavour was made with animal rennet - derived from the stomach linings of newborn calves. (the mature cheddar flavour crisps still use animal rennet)

3 - Famous vegetarians include Pamela Anderson, Albert Einstein, Shania Twain, Martina Navratilova and George Bernard Shaw.

4 - Vitamin B-12, calcium, vitamin D, zinc, and iron can be difficult to get enough of in a meat-free diet. Nutritionists recommend lots of leafy green vegetables, supplements, and eating a broad variety of food to make sure you also get the right protein in your diet.

5 - Vegetarian lifestyles are associated with a reduced risk of many chronic illnesses, including heart disease, bowel cancer and diabetes.

6 - There are nearly as many reasons to be a vegetarian as there are vegetarians. Some are unhappy that animals die so we can eat them, or object to the treatment of farm animals. Some choose to go veggie to be eco-friendly, because they believe it's better for them, or just because they don't like meat.

7 - Studies have suggested that as much of 10% Americans are vegetarians, and between five and twelve percent of people in the UK

8 - meat substitutes can be derived from a number of sources. Tofu is among a wide selection of soy-based products, Quorn is made with mushroom proteins and buddhist tradition gives us seitan, made from wheat flour. Lentils, chickpeas, beans and pulses are also sometimes used this way

9 - Animal rights group PETA has offered a million dollar prize to anyone who can create commercially viable lab-grown chicken meat by the end of this year

10 - Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in calories and higher in dietary fibre, but if meat and fish have been replaced with lots of cheese and nuts, they can be higher in fat.

As vegetarian month continues, I will be collecting meat-free recipes that work even for fussy meat eaters (i.e. me) so stay tuned!

Heirloom recipes

Some families pass down rings or watches or grandfather clocks. My family passed down these;




That's a cutter and a griddle who's purpose in life revolves around the third heirloom - my nan's Welsh cake recipe, appropriately for St David's day.
A Welsh cakes are a variation on drop scones. Cooked on the griddle and full of dried fruit, they're a traditional teatime snack. They're lovely with a cuppa, and they're nice and easy to make.

You'll need;
200g self-raising flour
100g butter or margarine
100g sugar
one egg
a little milk
sultanas or raisins - however much you like. I like a fruitier cake
you'll also need a rolling pin, biscuit cutter and a griddle or thick frying pan to cook them on.

Cream together the flour, sugar and butter.

Add in the egg and stir until the mixture begins to clump together.

Mix in the fruit, then add in milk, a little at a time until the dough clumps together.

Flour your surface, and roll out the dough to about a quarter inch thick.

Cut out the cakes. I tend to pile them on a plate, with greaseproof paper between the layers to stop them stcking together.

Grease your griddle/pan with a little butter and put it on a medium heat to warm up.

Place some cakes on the griddle. I tend to put on around five at a time, as more can be difficult to manage when it comes to turning them.

Cook them each side for a couple of minutes, or until they're browned.

Sprinkle your cakes with a little sugar, then serve with tea or coffee.




Do you have an heirloom recipe? I would love to hear about it, and maybe even make it with you - leave a comment!