Spinach and Chermoula Pie | Yotam Ottolenghi

A puff-pastry pie shell filled with spinach and feta is “approachable” and “crowd-pleasing”; “healthy” and “hearty”; “unpretentious,” with a bit of a built-in “wow.” That’s the way Ottolenghi describes why this pie gets a lot of love on Instagram. Instead of pursuing “likes” on social media, my focus has always been taste, healthfulness and accessibility of the ingredients. Spinach, potato, feta and spices will always get a big hug from me and love from my family. Swiss chard and cheddar are ready to fill in when I’m low on spinach and feta. So is the leftover puff pastry in the freezer which I loaded up during the holiday seasons.

Once the pastry shell is in place, a quick sauté of onion and spinach is next. Now get ready to layer the pie with the vegetable filling. Most noteworthy is the flavor component which rests heavily on charmoula. I have a small jar of charmoula leftover from marinating a fish. First and foremost, charmoula is a mixture of herbs, spices, oil and vinegar or lemon juice famous as a marinade. But it also makes an excellent sauce for vegetables.

Whenever there are excess parsley, cilantro or other herbs, chop them up in the food processor, add a garlic clove, spices (paprika, cumin, pinch of cayenne), oil and vinegar. Now you have a readymade and versatile sauce for marinating and cooking. How easy is that? That’s what I’d call a kitchen sink approach — with some measure of refinement. I know I’ll be using variations of charmoula in my kitchen a lot.

Although the intention has little to do with likes (on Instagram), there is no denial the beauty of a well assembled pie, which I adore. Consider one of my favorite things to do: looking through the display window and admiring cakes and pies in a pastry shop. It will draw me in every time. Constructing one is always tempting — with the anticipation that something good-looking will emerge. In addition, I get to play with the spinach and charmoula pie, like making thin slices of potato and laying them in a concentric circle over the spinach and feta filling. Fun, fun project!

This is a good-looking savory pie with easy appeal to the home cook and pastry chef in me. Don’t forget, it’s also virtuous of being healthful and full of veggie goodness.

Too heavy-handed with the feta! A cup or less is enough.

Fresh takes on pies and chermoula:

• Spring-inspired dish in a round mound or a tin, call it tart, pie or quiche. Your call.
• You can smash herbs and mix together nuts and olive oil to make a pesto, a marinade or a sauce. Color your dish with dashes of green in the style of Otttolenghi. Love the fresh scent of it!

Print Recipe

Spinach and Chermoula Pie

By Yotam Ottolenghi – Serves: 4

The spinach and chermoula pie feels like a hug. Puffed pastry lining the bottom, the pie is filled with spinach mixture, feta, thinly sliced potato and chemoula on top. This is a comforting pie to share with family and friends.

Ingredients

• FOR THE CHERMOULA PASTE:
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¾ cup/30 grams roughly chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
• ½ fresh mild red chile (about 10 grams), roughly chopped, seeds and all
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and roughly crushed using a mortar and pestle
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons/60 milliliters olive oil
• FOR THE PIE:
• 4 tablespoons/60 milliliters olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion (about 12 ounces/360 grams), halved and thinly sliced
• 12 ounces/350 grams frozen spinach, thawed, then squeezed to remove excess water
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ⅓ cup/15 grams roughly chopped fresh dill
• 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon zest, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 sheet frozen all-butter puff pastry, at least 9 inches/24 centimeters wide, thawed
• 1 cup/130 grams roughly crumbled Greek feta
• 1 baking potato (about 9 ounces/250 grams), skin-on, scrubbed clean

Instructions

1

PREPARE THE CHEMOULA PASTE: Add the garlic, cilantro, chile, cumin, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a good grind of pepper and 3 tablespoons oil to a food processor. Pulse into a coarse paste and set aside.

2

PREPARE THE PIE FILLING: Add 3 tablespoons oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Once hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and well browned, about 12 minutes. Add half the chermoula paste (reserve the rest), the spinach, 1 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper, and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat, then add the dill and lemon zest. Set aside to cool, about 20 minutes.

3

PREPARE THE PIE CRUST: Line a 9-inch/24-centimeter pie or tart pan (tin) with a removable base with a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the base and a little bit over the sides. (The excess will help you lift the tart when it’s baked.) On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry with a floured rolling pin to a 12-inch/30-centimeter square. Lay the puff pastry on the parchment, pressing in the pastry to fit the base and sides of the pan and cutting away any excess so it overhangs by about 3/4 inch/2 centimeters.

4

CHILL THE PIE: Poke the base all over with a fork (about 10 times), then spread the cooled spinach mixture over the base evenly. Sprinkle the feta on top, then fold and scrunch the sides over the filling to create a rim. (Don’t worry if it’s not perfect.) Refrigerate the pie for at least 20 minutes, or up to overnight, covered.

5

Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.

6

TOP THE PIE: Trim and discard the ends of the potato and use a mandolin or very sharp knife to cut the potato into paper-thin slices. Toss together in a bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Fan out the slices on top of the spinach and feta in a circular pattern, overlapping slightly, to cover the filling but not the pastry rim.

7

BAKE THE PIE: Place the chilled pie on a baking sheet and bake until cooked through and nicely colored, about 50 minutes. Set aside to cool, about 15 minutes, before gently transferring to a wooden board or serving plate.

8

When ready to serve, stir the lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon oil into the reserved chermoula. Spoon half of the chermoula all over the pie and serve the remaining in a bowl alongside. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Notes

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021421-spinach-and-chermoula-pie