deconstructed spanakopita

I though a lot about this, I am not the type to 'deconstruct' dishes, but I wanted to try. 

The resulting spinach puddings are really soft but perfectly set and stable, the feta sauce easy and yummy, and the filo 'crackers' complete the dish perfectly, so you will make an impression with your guests!

Ingredients

For the savory spinach mini puddings:

500 g chopped frozen spinach

Water

100 ml milk

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

3 eggs

Salt to taste

Salted butter to grease the ramekins

For the Feta Sauce:

100 g feta

A sprig of oregano (or a pinch of dried oregano)

A little milk and hot water

For the Filo Crackers:

5 sheets of film pastry

Salted butter, melted, to brush

Boil the spinach with water, then drain but do not squeeze. Put the spinach in a bowl and blend with an immersion blender. Add the milk and blend again. Add the parmesan and eggs and blend again. Taste for salt then add salt. Grease 8 ramekins with butter and fill with the spinach mixture, then cover with baking paper and secure with a rubber band. Place in a roasting pan filled with water (only half-way through the ramekins) and bake at 160° C for about one hour. 

To make the sauce just brake the feta with a fork and thin down with a little milk and a little hot water until you get a creamy consistency. Do not use a blender but just a fork. Add the oregano and set aside.

To make the filo crackers, place 3 sheets of filo on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush with melted salted butter, then add 2 more sheets of filo and brush again. Using a pizza cutter or a knife make some incisions over the pastry to cut it into 8 rectangles, and then each rectangle into 2 triangles. Make sure that the incisions are all the way through the pastry (i.e. the pastry is cut into 16 triangles). Bake with the spinach pudding (on a different rack, of course!) until the top of the filo is golden and crispy.

Remove the puddings from the oven and reverse over the serving plates (they should come out easily, but otherwise just pass the borders with a knife). Add two filo triangles and a spoonful of feta sauce to each plate. Serve immediately as an antipasto. These puddings are soft, moist and creamy and can be eaten with a spoon, or a dessert fork, and are suited to open a formal dinner. My family really liked them, but I guess that they like Spanakopita too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©