Has your food got attitude? Why not? If you haven't been watching 'Jamie's 30 minute Meals', you haven't really been trying in this cooking business. I am the only one in my family who has, but still we have talked about it. He says, you have got to give your food some 'attitude', obviously with garlic, don't bother to take the skins off just crush( I found this surprisingly harder work than peeling them first), then add lots of fresh herbs, of course you need a chilli or two and then put lemon juice on absolutely everything. Whack it in the pan. It all looks and, I am sure, tastes amazing. You do believe it because he does. He wants you to eat well, not to eat ready made food from a factory but fresh, tasty, impressive food that, as he will show you, takes very little time to prepare.
There is one crucial flaw - most of what he cooks costs a fortune. Fillet of beef into the frying pan anyone? It'll only cost you about £50 quid and that's in Yorkshire.
This dish, though, is both cheap (comparitively), easy, vegetarian and yummy as we have tried it. It is a version of Spanokopitta, the Greek pie, so you can close your eyes and dream of those nights under the stars. You don't have to make this classic at high speed or in this way but the method makes it easy and seem more possible perhaps for an ordinary supper. In fact you can make the filling in advance and then use the filo to put it together when you are ready. But it can be done fairly quickly from scratch.
This is not his recipe because, unlike most of the country, I haven't bought his book but this is how we made it after seeing the programme. I even bought a type of pan that I have wanted for years just to make this - the power of the man!!
Spinach and Feta pie a la Greque (4 portions)
1 packet of fresh filo - you will only need half so the rest can be wrapped and frozen
Filling:
1 packet of feta
50g/2/3 oz cheddar grated
3 eggs
A little fresh mint and parsley chopped
Dried oregano
S and P but mostly P as the feta is salty
1/2 100g packet pine nuts (you could use all of them)
Spinach - Jamie said 2 packets baby spinach from the supermarket. We used a large picking from the allotment. Basically lots.
Lemon and nutmeg as seasoning
There is one crucial flaw - most of what he cooks costs a fortune. Fillet of beef into the frying pan anyone? It'll only cost you about £50 quid and that's in Yorkshire.
This dish, though, is both cheap (comparitively), easy, vegetarian and yummy as we have tried it. It is a version of Spanokopitta, the Greek pie, so you can close your eyes and dream of those nights under the stars. You don't have to make this classic at high speed or in this way but the method makes it easy and seem more possible perhaps for an ordinary supper. In fact you can make the filling in advance and then use the filo to put it together when you are ready. But it can be done fairly quickly from scratch.
This is not his recipe because, unlike most of the country, I haven't bought his book but this is how we made it after seeing the programme. I even bought a type of pan that I have wanted for years just to make this - the power of the man!!
Spinach and Feta pie a la Greque (4 portions)
1 packet of fresh filo - you will only need half so the rest can be wrapped and frozen
Filling:
1 packet of feta
50g/2/3 oz cheddar grated
3 eggs
A little fresh mint and parsley chopped
Dried oregano
S and P but mostly P as the feta is salty
1/2 100g packet pine nuts (you could use all of them)
Spinach - Jamie said 2 packets baby spinach from the supermarket. We used a large picking from the allotment. Basically lots.
Lemon and nutmeg as seasoning
- Put the eggs and cheeses in a bowl. Break the feta into rough cubes. Add the pine nuts, after you have lightly toasted them in a dry pan. Add some lemon rind, and your herbs.
- Put the spinach in a little oil in a hot pan and let it wilt - it may look too much but will collapse. If necessary, do it in 2 batches - or one bag after the other. Season it with grated nutmeg and lemon rind, S&P; stir it occasionally till it is dark and soft. Drain it if there is some liquid. Squeeze a little lemon juice on it.
- Add it to the filling and roughly mix it all together. Don't try to make it smooth. You want it to have 'attitude'.
- Take a frying pan that you can put into the oven. If you buy one, at least you will be able to use it again and again (tarte tatin etc) so it is not a one recipe expense necessarily. But a metal tin will also do the job if it is heavy enough to put onto direct heat.
- Make a double piece of greaseproof that is larger than the pan and wet it thoroughly under the tap so it is soft. This gives you a wet hankerchief effect. Spread this on the work surface. Unfold your filo, putting 4 square pieces overlapping onto the paper. Sprinkle the filo with a few drops of olive oil, pat it very gently, and then add another layer, oil again then another. You should get 3 layers. It sounds complicated but isn't.
- Now use the paper to lift it all into the pan. Put the filling in the pan. Fold over the filo. Pat down. Sprinkle on a little more oil. Tear the paper edges so it doesn't hang over and risk catching fire.
- Now put the pan on the heat. Let it cook 5-10 mins on a medium heat so that the bottom starts to brown.
- Now put it into a hot oven. Sprinkle a few sprigs of rosemary on top if you have got it.
- In 20 mins it will look crisp and is ready - if not, just leave till it is nicely browned and the filling is set if you wobble it..
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