isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Spanakopita with checked feta

Greek spinach pie in crisp filo with ricotta, feta, dill, chives and mint, made with a feta and ricotta whose rennet you have checked.

  • Cuisine Greek
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Moderate
  • Yield 1 pie (20 cm square)
  • Time 1h 45m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A slice of spanakopita showing the spinach filling under layers of golden filo
Photograph from our ingredient library: a slice of spanakopita, not the finished dish.

Photo: Alpha · CC BY-SA 2.0

Why Halal checks matter here

Spanakopita's spinach, egg, herbs, filo and oil are Halal; the feta is set with rennet, and scholars differ on rennet from animals not slaughtered the Halal way.

Spanakopita is a Greek pie of spinach, cheese and herbs baked in layers of filo. The spinach, egg, herbs, filo and oil are all Halal, and the one ingredient to check is the cheese (see spanakopita).

Feta is set with rennet. Rennet from a Halal-slaughtered animal, or microbial or vegetable rennet, is Halal; scholars differ on rennet from animals that were not slaughtered the Halal way. This version, adapted from BBC Good Food's lighter spanakopita, asks for a feta that names microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, and a ricotta with no animal rennet on the label (see cheese).

Squeeze the spinach as dry as you can and pat it with kitchen paper, as the original does, and bake the tin on the preheated sheet.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Feta Feta is set with rennet. Rennet from a Halal-slaughtered animal, or microbial or vegetable rennet, is Halal; scholars differ on rennet from animals not slaughtered the Halal way. Use a feta that names microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, or one your school accepts. See Spanakopita and Rennet.
  • Ricotta Ricotta labels vary, and a cheese label may list animal rennet. Read the tub and choose one with no animal rennet listed. See Cheese.

Safe substitutes

  • Animal-rennet feta → Feta with microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet

Allergens

milk (ricotta, feta), egg, gluten (filo)

Ingredients

Filling

  • 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) fresh spinach
  • 45 ml (3 tbsp) rapeseed oil (2 tsp for frying, the rest for the filo)
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 6 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • a good pinch ground nutmeg
  • 200 g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) ricotta, with no animal rennet on the label
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 tbsp + 1 tsp dill, chopped (2 tbsp plus 1 rounded tsp)
  • 2 tbsp chives, snipped
  • 2 tsp mint, chopped
  • 100 g (3½ oz) feta with microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet

Pastry

  • 5 filo pastry sheets (about 46 × 25 cm, 250 g in all)

Method

  1. Wilt the spinach. Pack the spinach into a large heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water and press it down for 1 minute to wilt. Tip into a colander, cool under cold running water, then squeeze out as much water as you can, pat dry with kitchen paper and chop roughly.
  2. Fry the aromatics. Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large non-stick pan and fry the shallot, spring onions and garlic over a fairly high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until soft and starting to brown. Lower the heat, add the spinach for 1 minute to dry it, season with pepper and nutmeg and leave to cool.
  3. Mix the cheese. Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, gas 5) with a baking sheet inside. Stir the ricotta into the beaten egg with the 2 tbsp of dill, the chives and mint, and season.
  4. Line the tin. Lightly oil a 20 cm square tin, 4 cm deep. Mix the rest of the oil with the 1 tsp of dill. Brush one filo sheet with dill oil and lay it in the tin to line the base and two sides with an overhang; lay a second oiled sheet the other way to cover the other two sides. Repeat with two more sheets.
  5. Fill and top. Stir the ricotta mixture into the spinach and crumble in the feta, leaving some chunky pieces. Spoon it into the tin and level it, fold the overhanging filo over the filling and brush with oil. Oil the last sheet, cut it in half and lay it over in loose folds to cover the top.
  6. Bake. Set the tin on the hot baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until crisp and golden. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before turning out, and serve warm or cold.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Lighter spanakopita' (spinach wilted and squeezed dry, shallot, spring onions and garlic fried, ricotta mixed with egg, dill, chives and mint, feta crumbled in, filled into a 20 cm tin lined with criss-crossed oiled filo, topped with folded filo and baked 25 to 30 minutes at 190°C). We specified a feta and ricotta with microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, or none. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Lighter spanakopita — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Serves 6: 500 g spinach, 3 tbsp rapeseed oil, shallot, 6 spring onions, garlic, nutmeg, 200 g ricotta, egg, dill, chives, mint, 5 filo sheets (250 g), 100 g feta; 20 cm square tin, baked 25 to 30 minutes at 190°C (170°C fan). We specified rennet-checked feta and ricotta.

  2. Spanakopita analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    The feta and its rennet are the one check in spanakopita.

All Halal-conscious recipes