One of my all time favourite recipes, both to eat and to cook, is spanakopita. It’s a family favourite and I’m convinced my Dad invites me over sometimes just to make him a batch. As ever though, I’m always looking to develop recipes, expand my repertoire and make something new. Therefore I set about trying to create a winter version.
Chestnuts are a totally underrated ingredient in my opinion and we don’t see enough of them. They’re earthy, hearty and pair well with so many different kinds of vegetables. I decided to pair them with mushrooms for added juiciness and I love to throw spinach and onions into most things so in they went too. Winter warmers of the vegetarian variety can be few and far between but I think these are a great one to have in reserve for winter occasions.
I had a couple of these with some salad for lunch at the weekend and took a few each day for lunch at work throughout the week. They’d make a great starter if you had dinner guests or great nibbles for a party. Best eaten warm I’d give the 10 minutes in the oven to warm through before serving if you’ve pre-made them for an event.
Ingredients
(Makes 14)
1 tbsp coconut oil
Half an onion, finely diced
180g whole roasted chestnuts, diced
100g mushrooms, diced
100g spinach
2 tsps ground nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to season
125g goats cheese
1 tbsp nut oil
180g filo pastry
Method
- In a large pan on a medium-high heat melt the coconut oil before adding the onions and chestnuts. Fry gently for a few minutes until onions are softened.
- Add the mushrooms and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Add the spinach and mix in until completely wilted.
- Add the nutmeg and a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir through before crumbling in the goats’ cheese. Ensure the ingredients are all evenly spread throughout the mixture and set aside to cool.
- When the mixture has cooled preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Lightly dust a your work surface with flour and cut your filo sheets into strips.
- Overlap two strips of filo pastry and spoon around 1-2 tbsp of filling into the corner. Fold the corner in over the filling to meet the far edge forming a triangle shape. Repeat until you reach the end of the strip. Lightly brush the end with a little of the nut oil to seal.
- When all of your little parcels are made lightly brush each side with the nut oil and arrange on a baking tray.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Serve hot with a rocket salad as a starter or as part of a buffet.
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