At the beginning of the year, we had a lecturer, who had quite a handful of published papers under his belt, come in and talk us through what to expect when writing a research paper. One of the things he said was that we will come to the point where all we can think about is the paper. It will consume all our thoughts, he warned, be it whether we’re eating, studying or sleeping. That was sadly the only thing i took away from that seminar and even sadly is the reason why i remember it vividly- the second that sentence left his lips, i scoffed at the very thought of that happening. The research paper consuming all my thoughts? No way was that happening to me- i had far better things to occupy my time and thoughts with!
Well, as it turns out, not surprisingly, i spoke way too soon. I should have known better than to doubt his words. I mean the guy has written tons of research papers, his word is practically the prophecy. Those sneaky sneaky thoughts have a way of creeping into my head, choosing to nestle manifest itself between the thoughts of delicious thing i wanna whip up in the kitchen, slowly but surely kicking start a guilt trip till i put aside my newly acquired copies of Australian Gourmet Travellers and actually start doing something about the paper.
And as it is with me, when it rains, it really pours. So when things start to pick up a little in my life, i somehow find myself heading to the gym more regularly. I guess once you get started on a kick ass day, you might as well keep going right? And by that same logic, when the holidays roll around, i’m more than happy to sleep in past noon and not do anything in particular at all. How or why that works with me, i have no idea. I swear it made perfect sense in my head a few minutes ago. With all that going on, i’ve barely spent any time in the kitchen lately and it does seem like it’s gonna be that way for a while. So my apologies in advance if things slow down a little on this site.
Anyway, moving along, since my point was this post was really to rave about my recent discovery about the wonders of filo sheets, i don’t know about you but my brain just seems to have a strong dislike for puff pastry. Every time i skim through an enticing recipe and see the words puff pastry listed as an ingredient, my brain just skips past the rest of it and moves right along. I suspect the reason for this might be twofold- one, the smell of buttery goods makes me feel horribly sick like i’m packing on the pounds just by inhaling and two, my conscience just refuses to let me enjoy anything containing puff pastry, knowing how much butter goes into it. Whatever the reasons are, i’ve sure missed having the light, flaky pie crusts.
But all that changed when i worked with filo sheets for the first time last week. I’ve occasionally read about it being used in recipes but never thought of working with it or even sourcing it out until i came across a box of it in the chilled section of the supermarket and decided to make spinach and feta pillows.
I just went with my gut on this one, threw everything into the saucepan. The great thing about this recipe’s that after the filling has been cooked and cooled, everything else can be put together in a breeze, making it practically fuss free- almost too good to be true for something this scrumptious.
This was one of those dishes that was simplicity at its best- the sensational combination of ingredients worked so well. The multiple layers of filo sheets, brushed with a lightly beaten egg, resulted in a really light and flaky crust, not unlike that of puff pastry. The filling was moist and flavourful with just a hint of saltiness from the melted, gooey feta and a subtle crunch from the onion bits. This was really tasty and filling. Piping hot fresh from the oven and accompanied with a light cup of tea to wash it all down, this made a perfect winter warmer.
Spinach and Feta Pillows
Ingredients
8 large sheets of filo pastry, halved
1/2 a brown onion, roughly chopped
About 150g feta cheese, crumbled
3 eggs
250g frozen spinach, thawed
Butter
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
- Melt a knob of butter over medium heat in a frying pan, swirling butter to coat pan evenly. Add onions and fry till onions are soft and fragrant. Add spinach and fry for a bit. Add feta and stir around for a bit till cheese starts to melt. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- In a large bowl, whisk 2 eggs together and add spinach mixture, mixing well. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 175C. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Melt a fair bit of butter in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly grease the foil and set baking sheet aside. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg and set aside.
- Place 1 filo sheet, long side facing you, on work surface. Brush lightly with melted butter and place a second sheet of filo pastry over it, brushing lightly with butter as well. Repeat with the two more sheets.
- Place spinach mixture on prepared filo sheets, closer to one short end of the sheet than the other but leaving a border all around. Fold the top and bottom bits over the spinach mixture and then fold the entire thing across its length. Brush the end of the sheet with the whisked egg before enclosing spinach mixture completely. Place the pillow, enclosed side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with the whisked egg and sprinkle sesame seeds.
- Repeat with remaining sheets and spinach mixture. Bake for about 20 minutes till pastry is golden brown. Serves 4
