Spinach, Feta & Sweet Potato Pie
Today's recipe is a meatless one. I'm enjoying coming up with recipes that are interesting as well as being vegetarian, something I've recently learned. The spinach, feta and sweet potato pie was so flavoursome, my thirteen year old brother ate every leafy green with no complaints! If that's not a testament to taste, then I don't know what is. The pie pastry is a little complicated, so if you'd prefer to use a store bought block, then I won't judge you!
Servings: 5 slices
Prep+cooking time: 1hr 30mins
Ingredients for pie crust
- 1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
- 1 tsp salt
- pinch pepper
- 1/4 cup cold water
Ingredients for bechamel sauce
- 2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2-3 tbsp plain flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2-3 tbsp feta cheese
Ingredients for filling
- 1 sweet potato, chopped into cubes and boiled seperately
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Handful spinach
- A few thin slices of yellow pepper
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- sprinkle of sesame seeds to top the pie
Instructions
1) To make the pie crust, combine the flour, salt and pepper and create a well in the middle. Pour in a little water at a time and keep mixing with your hands. Add in the chilled butter and rub it into the dough. Roll out the dough and cover your tray. Refrigerate for around 20 minutes before baking for 10 minutes at 180c/356F/Gas mark 4.
2) While the pie crust is chilling, soften the onion, garlic and spices in olive oil. Make sure you have boiled and drained your sweet potato cubes by now.
3) In a separate deep pan, melt the butter and flour to create a roux. Stir in the feta and pour in a little milk at a time, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes a silky, almost custard texture. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.
4) Take the sauce off the heat and mix in the spinach leaves until they wilt. Add in the boiled sweet potatoes as well as the softened onions so that everything is in one pan.
5) Pour the mix into the half-baked pie crust and put into the oven for another 15 minutes. Slice yellow peppers and sprinkle sesame seeds for some added crunch.
