Phyllo. It’s like an old friend that’s always there for you. One that you can go to in your freezer and always comes through with something delicious.

The paper thin, transclucent sheets that end up light and so crispy they shatter in your mouth. Can you tell I love good textures? It’s what keeps things interesting in my opinion.

Yes, I get this excited about ingredients. Especially when it’s one you can keep in your freezer and can do so many things with. It’s like your favourite pair of jeans. Dress them up, dress them down it’s always going to be something great.

You’ll find phyllo in long sheets and when you layer them with butter or oil you end up with a perfectly light crust for pies, galettes, or strudel style. Savoury or sweet you can get as creative as you like when it comes to fillings.

I love the process of taking the sheets and brushing them with butter then layering until you’ve got a nice strong base to work with. It’s one of those repetitive tasks in the kitchen that I find really calming. Kitchen meditation. But the beauty of this ‘I can do anything’ pastry is that you can be really lazy about if you feel like it. Sometimes I like to scrunch up a few sheets like I would crumpling paper and use them to top a pot pie or any kind of fruit for a quick dessert that looks fancy but really isn’t. I’m also going to experiment with using these to make a tarte tatin inspired dessert - I’ll keep you posted!

If you’ve never worked with phyllo before, don’t be intimidated. It may seem delicate and fragile but there’s a few tricks that will help:

Make sure you fully thaw it in the fridge before using. If it’s still frozen it will break when you’re unrolling it.

When you’re working with it, keep it under a damp towel to keep it from drying out. Again it will break when it gets dry.

Don’t worry if a sheet rips or breaks. That’s the great part about layering - just patch any rips, add more butter and another sheet. I usually go with about 10-12 sheets for a base so it will hold together just fine even with a few imperfect sheets.

What’s Cooking This Week: Roasted Broccoli, Spinach & Feta Pie

This is an easy twist on the classic spanakopita. I like to roast the broccoli to get that nice caramelized flavour and texture. Simple ingredients cooked well and layered with flavour makes them go from basic to brilliant and this is a perfect example. I keep this open faced but you can certainly add a top if you like. Serve this with a good dollop of tzatziki and a squeeze of lemon.

Roasted Broccoli, Spinach and Feta Pie

• 10-12 sheets phyllo pastry

• 1/4 cup butter melted

• 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets

• 1 cup cooked spinach, squeezed dry of as much liquid as you can

• 3 green onions, sliced

• 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

• 1/4 cup fresh dill, minced

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• zest of half a lemon

• 2 eggs

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil

• salt and pepper to taste

To roast the broccoli, arrange the florets on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400* for 25-30 minutes or until the broccoli is browned and cooked through, turning once to get an even browning. Set aside to cool.

To prepare the filling, add the broccoli, spinach, green onions, feta, dill, lemon zest, oregano, olive oil and eggs. Mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper and set aside while you prepare the phyllo.

To prepare the phyllo, take one sheet and brush evenly with the melted butter. Add another sheet and smooth to remove air bubbles. Repeat with the remaining sheets. Place the pastry into a pie plate or baking dish. Use a dish that is just deep enough so that some of the pastry hangs over the sides.

Add the filling to the phyllo, spreading to evenly cover the baking dish. Fold the excess pastry over the edge of the filling all the way around. Brush the pastry with more melted butter.

Bake at 375* for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. This can be served warm or at room temperature.

PS - I’m back this week from a fun, much anticipated (rescheduled a couple of times but we finally made it!) trip to NYC. Shows, museums, shopping - and most importantly the food! So many great restaurants, plus I did a pizza tour which has me inspired and experimenting in the kitchen and I can’t wait to share more on that soon! Stay tuned :)

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Happy Cooking :) 

love,

Krista  

Nourished & Whole
Eat well. Live well. Cook often.
www.nourishedandwhole.com