FILO PASTRY PIE

This is yet another one of those recipes that impresses your friends
and in no way reflects the complete lack of effort involved. (In
other words, the best kind.)
This pie should ideally be made in one large spring-release cake
tin; it’s quite delicate and you don’t want it collapsing completely
when you take it out. However, even though I am actually the
proud owner of two spring-release cake tins (also several loosebottomed
ones) I nearly always make two smaller pies in the same
standard-size sandwich tins I’d normally use for baking sponge
cakes.
To get the pies out of the tins I either put a plate over the top
of each one, turning it out upside down then putting a plate over
it again and turning it the right way up, or – if I think I can get
away with it – quickly tipping the pie straight out onto the palm
of my hand, then onto the plate.
The other good thing about making two smaller pies is you can
alter the fillings slightly, and use whichever kind of crumbly white
cheese you want (I like feta) or a mixture of hard cheeses,
according to what you’ve got.
1 packet of large filo pastry sheets (1⁄2 lb+/250g = roughly 16
sheets)
1⁄2 bag of baby leaf spinach
3 good-size courgettes
1 or 2 tomatoes
1 big tbsp red pesto
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp coriander
Cumin seeds
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
Butter
Crumbly cheese (feta, ricotta, Roquefort, goats’ cheese)
Method
1. Warm some olive oil in a saucepan while you cut the courgettes
into thin slices, halving or quartering the slices according to
how you want them to be.
2. Put the cumin seeds in the pan and fry for a minute before
adding the courgettes, cook for a few more minutes until the
courgettes have softened then add some coriander and stir in
the pesto.
3. Take the pan off the heat and leave the courgettes to cool a little
while you wash and tear up the spinach leaves and finely slice
the tomatoes.
4. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6 (200ºC) and melt about 1 oz
(25 g) of butter in the microwave. Brush the cake tin or tins
and arrange 5–6 sheets of pastry at the bottom, brushing each
one with butter and overlapping them, leaving the excess
hanging over the edge of the tin all the way round.
5. Put the courgettes in first, followed by a layer of spinach;
sprinkle with nutmeg then add a layer of sliced tomatoes
seasoned with salt and pepper.
6. Crumble the cheese (however much feels right to you) over the
tomatoes then fold the overhanging pastry layers across the top,
again brushing each sheet with the melted butter as you go.
7. If you want more pastry on the top, break up another couple of
sheets and crumple them up on top of the pie, or pies, brush
with the remaining butter, and bake in the oven for about 20
minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.
8. Serve with salad or salad and rice.