Summary

Prep: 20 mins
Cooking: 25 mins
Ages: Toddlers to Teens
Difficulty: Intermediate
Makes: 15 bow ties

Ingredients

• 3 x 250 gram packets of filo sheets (30 sheets total)
• 600 grams fresh spinach leaves
• 400 grams feta cheese
• 3 spring onions
• 30 grams dill
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Prepare the filling:

1. Wash the spinach leaves and drain thoroughly.
2. Chop the white and light green parts of the spring onions into small slices.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a very large saucepan.
4. Sautée the spring onions in the oil until golden.
5. Slowly add in the washed spinach into the saucepan bit by bit. Please take care when doing this that the spinach is thoroughly dried as the water can react with the hot oil. You may need to add the spinach in in doses, waiting for each dose to collapse so that the next handful can fit in the saucepan.
6. When the spinach has all collapsed simmer for a few minutes
7. Chop the dill leaves (removing the stalks) and add to the saucepan.
8. Stir and simmer for a few minutes.
9. While the spinach is cooking prepare the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
10. Add the feta cheese and crumble it thoroughly with a fork until it’s broken down into smaller pieces throughout.
11. Add 1 of the eggs and the lemon juice.
12. Turn back to the saucepan of simmering spinach and remove it from the heat. Drain the spinach thoroughly in a colander (you don’t want too much water in your mixture so you may want to give it a minute or to drain completely).
13. Add the spinach mixture to the mixing bowl of feta cheese and stir thoroughly. Your filling is ready.

To make the filo bows:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease a large oven tray or several oven dishes with oil spray.
3. Have one ramekin with oil and oil with beaten egg in it, each with a brush for spreading across the filo pastry sheets.
4. Open the first packet of filo pastry and remove two sheets, placing them on a chopping board. Ours were about 40 x 30cm in dimensions.
5. You have to keep the rest of the filo pastry moist while you’re working as it’s very quick to dry and when it does you can’t bend it at all. Lay the remaining filo sheets down somewhere with a wet towel placed over the top of it to keep the moisture in.
6. Turn back to your two sheets on the chopping board and cut longways. You now have 2 piles of 2 filo sheet halves.
7. Add oil on top of each layer of filo. From the second pile take the top sheet and place it on the first pile of two filo sheets. You now have 3 filo sheets, half the size of the original filo sheet, laid one on top of the other with oil brushed on top of each layer.
8. Pinch this pile in in the middle to make the first outline of your bow.
9. Add a level tablespoon of the spinach mix to each side of the bow.
10. Take the first edge and fold it over and past the middle of the bow.
11. Scrunch the edges together so that it all meets in the middle and hold for a second.
12. Do the same for the other side.
13. Holding the middle of the spinach bow carefully flip it over onto the other side. This will be the top of your bow as you can see all the wrinkly layers better.
14. Now prepare the tie for the bow down the middle. Take the remaining filo layer which we had put to one side and cut it down the middle longways again. Make sure the top is brushed with oil and then fold this layer in half. It becomes a long thin strip.
15. Start wrapping this strip around the middle of the bow while holding in the edges. Wrap it as tightly as you can without breaking the filo. Push it down at the end.
16. Place the bow in the greased oven tray.
17. Brush with the beaten egg, and continue to the next bow.
18. Make as many bows as you need. If you have extra filling left over (or if you would rather not do bows) you can always create a mini spinach pie in ramekins or small pie dishes. Just add 3 layers of filo pastry to the base, each one brushed with olive oil, add the mixture and then add 3 layers of filo pastry on top. Score the top and brush with egg.

Spinach pie bows – our step by step guide:

Wash and drain your spinach thoroughly.

Chop your spring onions.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a very large saucepan.

Sautée the spring onions until golden.

Slowly add the spinach into the same saucepan and cook until it has all collapsed.

Take care that the spinach is dry enough before adding it in as the saucepan will have hot oil in it.

Add the dill leaves.

Simmer for a few minutes.

While the spinach is simmering, place the feta cheese blocks in a mixing bowl and break them apart with a fork.

Continue mashing them until the feta is even, small pieces.

Add the egg and lemon juice.

Go back to the simmering spinach in the saucepan.

Remove and drain the spinach thoroughly (leave it draining for a minute or two in a colander to make sure as much of the water as possible is out).

Add the spinach mix to the mixing bowl.

Stir thoroughly until it’s all evenly spread.

Grease an oven tray or dish, with olive spray.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Open the first packet of filo pastry and remove two sheets, placing them on a chopping board.

Ours were about 40 x 30cm in dimensions.

Lay the two sheets on a chopping board and cut longways. You now have 2 piles of 2 filo sheets.

You have to keep the rest of the filo pastry moist as it’s quick to dry and when it does you can’t bend it at all.

Lay it down somewhere with a wet towel placed over the top of it to keep the moisture in.

Add oil on top of each layer of filo.

From the second pile take the top sheet and place it on the first pile of two filo sheets.

You now have 3 filo sheets in one pile, half the size of the original filo sheet, laid one on top of the other with oil brushed on top of each layer.

Cut the remaining filo sheet into two and place the halves on top of each other. These will be used later on to tie the bow.

Pinch the pile of 3 filo layers in in the middle to make the first outline of your bow.

Add a level tablespoon of the spinach mix to each side of the bow.

Take the first edge and fold it over and past the middle of the bow.

Scrunch the edges together so that it all meets in the middle.

Do the same for the other side.

Holding the middle of the spinach pie flip it over onto the other side.

The bow will be this side up as it shows all the lovely wrinkly layers of the bow much better.

Now prepare the middle.

Take the remaining filo layer which we had put to one side and cut it down the middle longways again.

Make sure the top is brushed with oil and then fold this layer in half to make one long strip, 2 layers of filo deep.

Start wrapping it around the middle of the bow, as tightly as you can without breaking the filo. Push it down at the end.

Place the bow in the greased oven dish or tray.

Brush with the beaten egg, and continue with the next bow.

Carry on until you have done as many bows as you need.

If you have extra filling left over you can always create a mini spinach pie in ramekins or small pie dishes. Just add 3 layers of filo pastry to the base, each one brushed with olive oil, fill with the mixture and then add 3 layers of filo pastry on top. Score the top and brush with egg.

Pop in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden on top.

Serve up as they are for a great dish

Or add a funny face to make it a bow tie!

Either way enjoy!