A Greek(ish) Quick Dinner: Spanakopita and Tsatsiki

Summer is also a great time for cucumbers in a variety of forms, and of course for fresh herbs. Here are two quick recipes that can be done in neat succession, the spanakopita, a type of Greek pasty with spinach and feta,  first, and, while the pasties are baking, you do the Tsatsiki. I am, of course, aware that this is my take on these dishes and that real Greeks will have their own recipes and possibly consider my approach barbaric. But then in the original (Greek) sense of the word, that's what I am...

Spinach Pasties (Spanakopita)

What you need

• 500 g cooked  leafy spinach (if pressed for time use the frozen stuff), well drained
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• 2 smallish spring onions
• 1 chilli pepper
• olive oil for frying the filling
• 1 tablespoon of herbs, ideally dried rigani (Greek oregano)
• salt and pepper

• Puff pastry (filo pastry, if you can get it)
• 150-200 gr feta cheese
• a bit of egg or milk to glaze the pasties

 

 

What you do

1. Chop the string onions with at least some of the green, the onion part a bit more finely.
2. Cut the chilli into small pieces (into thin lengthwise strips, then dice those finely); discard the seeds if you want to avoid making the things too spicy.
3. Heat olive oil in the pan (about a tablespoon) and add the onions and the chilli.
4. Mash the garlic and add it, making sure none of the ingredients take colour.
5. Add the spinach and mix the ingredients, then add the rigani.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes. Make sure the stuff is reasonably dry (for the next step), otherwise pour off excess liquid.
7. Roll out the puff pastry to about 2mm and cut it into 4 rectangles. (If you place them on baking paper, the next step is easier.)
8. Place the filling on one half of the rectangle, leaving about a centimetre around the edges.
   Add the feta cut into small cubes or rectangles and distribute over the filling.
9. Then fold the other half over and press the dough together with the tines of a fork.
10. Brush with a bit of egg and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden in the oven at 175-200°.

 

 

 

 

Cucumber and Yoghurt Salad (Tsatsiki)

What you need

• 1 cucumber, roughly peeled and grated
• Salt
• 300 ml Greek yoghurt drained (substitute a portion of this for crème fraîche if you can’t get the really creamy yoghurt)
• 1 sprig peppermint and flat-leaved parsley
• 1 pinch or rigani (Greek oregano)
• 1 tblsp lemon juice or apple vinegar (balsamico if you can get it)
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed (I use more as I prefer it punchier)
• sea or herb salt to drain the juice of the cucumber

 

What you do

1. Peel the cucumber (I peel it lengthwise but usually leave narrow strips of peel on for colour and a bit of substance).
2. Grate it into a sieve and salt.
3. Leave for about 5 to 10 minutes for the juice to drain.
4. In the meantime, pour the yoghurt (and the crème fraîche if you want a bit of extra creaminess) into a bowl.
5. Squeeze the juice out of the cucumber (to prevent the tsatsiki from getting too watery and the cucumber from being too salty).
6. Add the chopped herbs.
7. Add the lemon juice (traditional) or the apple vinegat (tastier in my opinion) and the olive oil. 
8. Mix well and leave to sit until the cucumber is dejuiced.