isithalal.food · Recipes

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.

Greek · Main · Moderate · 1 pie (20 cm square) · 105 min

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.

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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.

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.

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

Pastry

• 5 (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.

Allergens

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

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.

Photograph from our ingredient library: a slice of spanakopita, not the finished dish.