Recipie – Jenny’s Spinach and Feta pie

Jenny Hoy 06 November at 18:50

here’s my recipe for Spinach and Feta pie (as tested by John Kenny, Chloe and Si when they stopped with the marimba en route to Marseille)

A few handfuls of washed spinach
1 onion finely chopped
a wee bit of olive oil
200g feta cheese
some wee tomatoes
capers
2 eggs
Grated nutmeg
1 packet filo pastry, thawed

Pre-heat your oven to 180c / gas 4

Grease a tin with olive oil and line it with 4 or 5 sheets of filo pastry, making sure it hangs over the side so you can fold it over the mixture. Leave some sheets to put on the top.

In a pan, fry the chopped onion in the oil. When it’s clear add in the washed spinach and wait for it to wilt. Grate some nutmeg over the mixture and take it off the stove to cool.

In a jug or bowl, beat two eggs and crumble in the feta cheese. Add the capers and season with pepper (remember the feta is already salty) add to the cooled spinach.

Fill the lined tin with the mix and put some halved baby tomatoes on top, cover over with the pastry.

Cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes until brown. This is lovely with potato wedges or salad. Yum!

Recipe – Chestnut and Chorizo Soup

Mary Shields 06 November at 17:01

Chestnut and Chorizo Soup
I haven’t always managed to find the chestnuts for this soup – and whilst it’s not quite the same – I have nonetheless successfully substituted beans such as haricot
(serves 4)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 celery stick, thinly sliced
120g mild cooking chorizo, cut into 1cm cubes
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons finely chopped, fresh thyme leaves
2 small dried red chillies, crushed
2 tomatoes, fresh or tinned, roughly chopped
500g cooked, peeled chestnuts (fresh or vacuum packed), roughly chopped
20 saffron threads (exactly 20, no messing here, it’s make or break. Ha ha) infused in 3-4 tablespoons boiling water
1 litre water
Sea salt and black pepper
In a large saucepan heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, chorizo and a pinch of salt and fry for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until everything caramelizes and turns quite brown. Now add the garlic, cumin, thyme and chilli and cook for 1 more minute, followed by the tomato and, after about 2 mins, the chestnuts. Give everything a good stir, then add the saffron-infused liquid, and the water, and simmer for about 10 mins. Remove from the heat and mash by hand (with a potato masher) until almost smooth but still with a little bit of texture. Season with salt and pepper.