Lamb & Spinach Pie

An oldie, I wrote this recipe after making Simmone Logue’s Spanakopita and having Dave provide feedback… “it’s delicious hun, but there’s no doubt it’d be better with meat!”.

Challenge accepted!

The thing I love about this recipe is the sweet/sour lamb mince mixture. A perfect agrodolce flavour.

It’s also pretty forgiving when it comes to the pastry… If you don’t have any filo or can’t be faffed with the filo, then just use puff pastry and make it a pot pie.

1 x brown onion, finely diced
2 x garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp each of grown cumin, cinnamon and allspice
500g lamb mince
½ cup currants
Juice of one orange
2 heaped tbs tomato paste
¼ cup verjuice
1 tbs pomegranate molasses
A small handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped 

8-10 big leaves of silverbeet
200g ricotta
100g fetta, crumbled
Zest & juice of half a lemon
2 x spring onions, finely chopped
A big handful of mint leaves, finely chopped
Pepper 

Filo pastry (10-12 sheets)
Melted butter for brushing
Nigella seeds 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, fan forced.
Soak the currants in the orange juice. 

Heat a large frying pan on medium heat, add a glug of olive oil and saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and spices and stir to combine.
Add the mince and cook for 5-10 mins (this will depend on how hot you have your pan), breaking it up as you go.
Add the currants and OJ and tomato paste and cook for another few minutes. Add the verjuice, molasses and parsley. Stir and remove from the heat. If it’s a bit too watery/juicy, cook it for a few more minutes. You don’t want it to be too wet. Set aside while you make the spinach mix. 

Remove the leaves of the silverbeet from the spines (feed these to the chooks!) and rinse. Place in a large saucepan, on a low heat and cover with the lid. Toss every few minutes until the leaves are wilted, but still bright. Drain and once cool, squeeze out any excess liquid. Chop and place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Line a springform pan with baking paper. Take one sheet of filo and brush generously with melted butter, then fold in half lengthways. Place this across the base of the pan, leaving flaps hanging over each side. Repeat, fanning out the folded pastry all the way around the pan.

Fill the pie – lamb first and then spinach. Fold over the filo flaps, brushing with butter between each one. Once all flaps are closed, brush the top generously with butter, sprinkle with nigella seeds and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and crunchy.

Serve with a light green salad or a tomato and Pickled Fennel salad.

Sweet. Sour. Salty. With that perfect flaky crunch!