Vegan spanakopita triangles

Step 1

Blanch clean spinach in a pot of boiling water (see how here). Immerse in ice cold water (optional) immediately after to preserve the beautiful green colour.

Step 2

Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add sliced spring onions and fry gently, until soft. Add diced garlic and fry on a low-medium heat until translucent and fragrant.

Step 3

Squeeze the water from the blanched spinach really well using your hands. Go over the spinach twice or even three times to get it as dry as possible. Chop it and add to the pan.

Step 4

Season with pepper, lemon zest and juice, nutmeg, nutritional yeast (if using) dried mint and dill. Let the mixture cool down completely before adding vegan cheese.

Step 5

Add vegan cheese to the mixture and stir around well. Season with salt depending on whether you used my ricotta or the tofu option (below). I used ¾ tsp of salt in mine.

Step 6

Heat up the oven to 175° C / 350° F.

Step 7

Prepare a small bowl with olive oil, a pastry brush, a bowl of breadcrumbs, a bowl with aquafaba and one with sesame seeds (if using).

Step 8

Before you roll out the pastry, measure the length of the roll. Trim ends off as they tend to be dry and therefore brittle and divide the entire roll into as many 6.5 cm / 2.5 in wide segments as you can. Use a pencil to make the markings on the paper that is wrapping the pastry. Cut off the first segments (no need to peel the paper off before cutting) and keep the rest covered with a damp kitchen towel as phyllo pastry dries up and cracks easily.

Step 9

Unwrap the first segment and place the first strip on a table ahead of you, keep the rest under the damp towel. LIGHTLY brush it with olive oil (you don't want the pastry to be oily), sprinkle with a bit of salt (optional, but I found that necessary) and a little of the breadcrumbs so that the pastry layers do not stick to each other and the pastry stays crunchy. Now, place another strip on top of the first one and brush it lightly with oil again.

Step 10

Place a heaped teaspoon (do not overfill the triangles) of filling at the bottom of each strip and then start folding the pastry around the filling as per the photos in the post.

Step 11

Seal the triangle with a dab of olive oil. Place on a baking tray (no need to grease it) under a damp kitchen towel. Continue until you use up all of the filling or pastry sheets.

Step 12

Brush the tops of the triangles with reduced aquafaba and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until golden.