Vegetarian mains
Chard and sheep's cheese pie with tomato and olive salad
A wonderful word and a wonderful dish, spanakopita, a Greek pastry pie filled with greens and feta cheese. They have been the mainstay of most veggie cafés for decades and for good reason, they are made of very few, but very tasty ingredients. They are usually made with filo pastry but we've opted for puff instead as we can't find anyone who produces filo organically. Our pastry is from the Dorset pastry company and is a light, crisp and slightly more virtuous replacement, and our Wootton white cheese is a British-made feta style cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small red onions
- 1 garlic clove
- 300g chard,
- 15g dill
- 150g Wootton white sheep's cheese
- 1 nutmeg
- 1 egg
- 1 pack puff pastry
- 3 tomatoes
- 60g black olives
- 50g salad leaves
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Peel and finely slice the onion(s). Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the saucepan. Add the onion and cook it gently for 10 minutes. Turn often and add a dash of water if it looks like catching in the pan.
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Step 2
Meanwhile, peel and finely chop 1 garlic clove. Wash the chard and strip the leaves away from the stalks. Finely dice the stalks and add them and the garlic to the onions. Cook the stalks and onions for a further 5 minutes while you blanch the chard leaves.
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Step 3
Add the chard leaves to the pan of boiling water and cook for just shy of 1 minute, until wilted. Drain and cool immediately under cold running water. When cooled, drain and squeeze out as much excess water as you can. Roughly chop the leaves.
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Step 4
Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Wash half the pack of dill, shake it dry and finely chop the fronds. In a bowl crumble the Wootton white cheese together with the onions, chard stalks, chopped leaves and dill. Season with a cautious pinch of salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
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Step 5
Beat the egg in a small cup with a dash of water. Unfurl the pastry and cut into 2 equal halves. Sit one half on the baking tray. Spread the chard mix over the pastry leaving a 2cm border on each side.
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Step 6
Brush the border with egg wash and lay the second sheet on top. Press the edges together and seal with the tines of a fork. Brush the top with the egg wash. Score lightly with a cross-cross pattern. Cut 2 vent holes for the steam.
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Step 7
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and risen. While the pie bakes, wash the salad and spin or shake it dry. Slice the olives in half. Cut the tomatoes into generous slices. Place the tomato slices in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
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Step 8
When the pie is ready add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the tomatoes. It will mix with any liquid drawn out of the tomatoes by the salt to form a dressing. Add the olives and salad leaves. Mix well and serve with slices of warm pie.
