Spanakopita

Step 1

Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan). Line a tray with baking paper / parchment paper.

Step 2

Sweat spinach: Place spinach in a large colander or bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss through. Leave for 10 minutes to sweat.

Step 3

Wring out water: Place a handful of spinach in a tea towel, then wring out tightly to remove excess water.

Step 4

Filling: Place spinach in a bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix well to combine.

Step 5

Trim filo: Cut 16 sheets of filo pastry into 32 x 25cm / 13 x 10" (pictured) or 26cm / 10.5" square.

Step 6

8 base layers: Layer 8 sheets of filo pastry on the tray, brushing each layer with melted butter.

Step 7

Filling: Spread filling on filo pastry. Smooth surface and leave a 2.5cm / 1" border.

Step 8

8 Filo topping layers (Note 4): Cover spinach with a sheet of filo pastry. Brush with butter, sprinkle with Kefalotyri. Repeat for Sheets #2 to #Then cover with filo sheets #6 to #8, brushing with butter in between, but do NOT sprinkle with cheese (neater finish).

Step 9

Seal: Press edges down to seal. Crimp and trim if desired (see process steps in post or video) or just leave the edges flat on the tray.

Step 10

Sesame seeds: Brush the top with butter, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Step 11

Bake: Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface.

Step 12

Serve! Serve immediately! It is at its absolute prime fresh out of the oven, though still good as long as its hot (~15 min or so). The base does lose crispiness as it cools.