Vegan Spiral Spanakopita Pie
We’ve recently taken on a Greek brand of vegan cheese from called GreenVie. I personally find feta style cheese to be one of the best vegan cheeses as its mild flavour and crumbly texture are easy to replicate than some other cheeses… While cooking the staff lunch (which is always vegan these days) I substituted the feta cheese in a classic spanakopita recipe with the Greenvie Greek style cheese and it was a total crowd pleaser. Here’s the recipe if you fancy giving it a try.
Vegan Spiral Spanakopita Pie
Prep time 30 mins, Cooking time 30mins. Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 pack frozen filo pastry
- Tip: Thaw the filo dough properly; too much moisture will make the dough or sheets sticky and hard to manage. When thawing, do not remove the filo from the package, place it in the fridge 12-14 hours before using.
- 1 small, finely diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 bag spinach, ideally organic! Frozen also works.
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 pack Greenvie Greek style cheese
- Splash of oat milk
- Juice of a lemon
- A drizzle of pomegranate molasses, to drizzle. Not necessary but a really tasty extra layer of flavour.
Method
- Before you begin assembling the spanakopita casserole, unroll the thawed filo sheets and place them carefully between two ever-so-slightly damp kitchen cloths. This helps the sheets remain moist so they won’t tear too much
- Next make the filling. Fry the onion in olive oil until it’s it is soft then add minced garlic. After a few minutes add the spinach. Cook until it is well wilted and allow to cool. Allow to cool then squeeze excess liquid from spinach mix.
- Make the whipped feta in a blender- we added the whole block of cheese, crumbled, add a large splash of oat milk, a drizzle of olive oil and the juice of a lemon. Prepare the pastry: separate the filo sheets carefully, some of them will still tear and that’s okay!
- On a non stick surface lay two filo sheets out with a small overlap along the short end. Brush with olive oil.
- Add two more, overlapped sheets on top, brush these lightly with olive oil. Continue to do this until all sheets are used.
- Assemble the filling in a sausage shape diagonally along the top sheet, making sure it is narrower on one end!
- Add a long, thin layer of the whipped feta. Drizzle a line of pomegranate molasses the length of the filling.
- Finally squeeze on some lemon juice and season the filling.
- Roll the pastry around the filling like a sausage roll and then starting with the thinner end roll the sausage roll in a spiral.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with olive oil or sesame oil. Bake in a hot oven for approx. 30 mins.
- Sprinkle with za’atar and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes to help the cheese to set.
- Serve with a lemony salad for a gorgeous lunch.
