Spanokopita wheel

(serves 4) 

Given how popular the spanokopita was with my little one, I thought we'd make it again to get some greens into her (and all of us). This time I thought we'd try this wheel which looks rather fancy and a bit fun to eat :) This recipe uses a bit less egg and cheese and on our first attempt the middle sections of the spiral weren't as crispy. This may have been because we got too hungry and took it out early, but otherwise it was delicious. Was also awesome to use our homegrown colourful silverbeet!

Prep time: 30 min

Cooking time: 45-50 min

Ingredients

1 brown onion

1 kg silverbeet or spinach leaves

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

150 g feta cheese

150 g ricotta cheese

2 eggs

8 to 10 sheets filo pastry, thawed, resting at room temperature for at least 2 hours from fridge

olive oil

sesame seeds

Method

1. Finely dice the onion and silverbeet/spinach leaves.

2. In a large frypan, sauté the onions and set aside. In batches, sauté the greens. Cool and then squeeze out the liquid from the leaves in batches by wringing in a tea towel . 

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked onion, greens, parsley, cheeses and egg and mix until well-combined.

Can't believe how much the silverbeet shrinks after squeezing the liquid out (left third)

4. Prepare a bowl of olive oil of approximately half a cup of olive oil. Prepare the filo pastry by unfolding and covering with a damp bowel. 

5. On a clean flat surface, place one sheet of filo pastry down, brush with olive oil then place another layer of filo on top. Scoop out the spinach mixture and place along the the long edge of the pastry  about 1.5cm wide then roll up the pastry into a long log. Brush a bit of oil at the end to seal. Place on a round tray, starting in the middle and twisting into a spiral. 

4. Continue until you've used up all the spinach mixture. 

NB. After this, you can wrap over the top with glad wrap and refrigerate for several hours or even overnight if preparing in advance.

5. When ready to cook, brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is crispy!