This week on Cooking the Books, Claire Thomson, aka 5 o’Clock Apron, tells us how she harnessed the power of Twitter back in the day to create her own brand and keep her values tucked firmly into her pinny.
Here she shares a recipe from her 9th book, The Veggie Family Cookbook, and makes us a special video of how to make her chamomile ice cubes.
Spanakopita with Tzatziki
Serves 4
150g (51⁄2oz) butter, plus more for greasing
1 large onion, finely chopped
50g (13⁄4oz) coarse bulgar wheat
400g (14oz) defrosted frozen or cooked spinach, drained
200g (7oz) feta, crumbled
200g (7oz) ricotta
50g (13⁄4oz) Parmesan or vegetarian alternative, finely grated (shredded)
4 eggs, beaten
2 large bunches of herbs, such as dill, mint or flat-leaf parsley, tender fronds or leaves picked and finely chopped
bunch of spring onions (scallions), very thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1⁄4 tsp grated nutmeg
10 filo sheets
2 tsp white sesame seeds
salt and black pepper
For the tzatziki
1⁄2 cucumber, peeled and coarsely grated (shredded)
300ml (101⁄2fl oz) Greek yogurt
big pinch of dried mint
lemon juice, to taste
To Greece for inspiration. This recipe is up there with those that I cook most often for my family at home. Everyone loves it, there is always a scrap over who gets to take any leftovers as a packed lunch the next day. The funny thing about this recipe is just how much green veg you can pack into a pie. From experience, children of all ages – from those just big enough to eat, shovelling fist to face, to obstinate toddlers, wily tweens and suspicious teenagers – will eat this. My youngest has always preferred the soft ruffle of cooked filo three or four layers down, whereas the middle and the eldest hanker for the ultra-crisp top layers, and they all, hand on heart, gobble down gargantuan levels of the spinach. You can use other cooked-down greens, such as chard, cavolo nero, kale or nettles, or even broccoli – in which case the pie then goes by the name of hortopita (greens pie).
Melt 30g (1oz) of the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 10 minutes, until soft, then stir in the bulgar wheat.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/Gas 5 and grease a 20 x 30cm (8 x 12in) oven dish with butter. Melt the remaining 120g (41⁄4oz) of butter in a microwave or in a small pan over a low heat.
In a mixing bowl combine the spinach, cooked onion mixture, cheeses, beaten eggs, herbs, spring onions, cumin and nutmeg, and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Lay two filo sheets lengthways in the bottom of the oven dish with edges overhanging. Brush with melted butter. Take two more filo sheets and turn them so that they are at right angles to the first to create a second layer, again overhanging the sides of the dish. Brush these with melted butter, then add two more, again at right angles to the previous layer.
Spoon the spinach mixture into the centre of the filo sheets and pull over the overlapping edges. Fold the remaining filo sheets to fit the top of the dish, brushing with most of the remaining melted butter between each layer, and place them to cover the filling. Brush again. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top, then bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden brown.
Meanwhile, make the tzatziki. Squeeze the cucumber dry in a clean tea towel, then mix it into the yogurt with the dried mint and lemon juice, and season with salt and black pepper.
Remove the spanakopita from the oven and leave it to cool for 15–20 minutes, or to room temperature, then serve it with the tzatziki on the side.
Veggie Family Cookbook by Claire Thomson (Quadrille, £30), Photography © Sam Folan