JC: Dinner Spanakopitas – UK style

A Bank Holiday weekend seemed a good idea to bake. Usually wet, dull and cold! And it was.
I had no problem with any of the ingredients – due to the fact that being a ‘creator’ I usually change recipes. I missed out on the parmesan cheese, yellow onion [I had small red ones in the fridge] and unsalted butter. I used a vegetable spread instead. As I would be the only one eating these strudels [Bank Holiday everyone is ‘somewhere’ already, or they do not want to face the crowded motorways of the UK] I halved the ingredients. Never before purchased frozen spinach, so was very pleased to see it came in 2”x3” cubes. Each weighed about 2ounces so just 5 were needed. For the bread crumbs, I dried a slice of bread in the microwave and then blitz it into breadcrumbs. While the onions were cooking gently, I examined my filo pastry package. It said 6 sheets which seemed fine for ½ the recipe. However, once on the work surface ……… there was a problem. At 18.5” x 10” per sheet, I was not going to be able to make 6 strudels and wrap them so the filling would not ooze out. The filling had mixed well but there was a lot of it. I did add extra pine nuts as I love them. As my eyes went from the filling to the sheets of filo ….. the problem was fixed. I’d make it into a long sausage shape strudel. The filling filled the long length of the sheet and I was able to roll it over several times. With the ends sealed [extra melted Flora and a firm thumb] and the seam side down, the filling was going to stay where it should. I was concerned about the extra salt on the top as feta cheese is quite salty, but added some anyway. Getting it onto the baking tray called for a sheet of baking paper to be placed under the strudel. The sheet was then pulled slowly onto the baking tray. After 35 minutes it looked a light golden brown. But, I did not take it out immediately and that was a mistake. The top layer of the pastry had a ‘hard’ crisp rather than a gentle crisp. Luckily the other layers were just fine.
Now, because the oven was on, and I could hear echoes of my Mom, who grew up in WWII and rationing, saying ‘fill the oven’, ‘don’t waste the heat’. So that is what I did. I had some courgettes given me, so made a courgette and cheese gratin to go with the strudel and 12 chocolate and courgette muffins. This left me with PLENTY of washing up as most of the plastic stuff would not go in the dishwasher. But, with the kitchen to myself and country music on the tape player I was happy.
The strudel cut into three with one in the fridge for Monday and one put in the freezer. Still thinking on best way to reheat – ideally in the oven as microwaving will just make the filo pastry tough. The strudel was very tasty, with the pine nuts giving texture to the meal. And it was worth the sprinkle of salt on top of the strudel. It gave that extra taste as you took the first bite. I would do this again, but you need to plan ahead. It would also be best if guests were coming and you could share in the enjoyment.