Potato and Spinach Pie
Buy or find
Garlic, cloves, 5
Coriander leaves, 30g, washed and roughly chopped
Mild red chilli, 10g, roughly chopped
Cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
Sweet paprika, 1 tsp
Olive oil, 1/4 cup
Lemon juice, 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
Olive oil, 1/4 cup
Brown onion, 2 large, thinly sliced
Frozen spinach, 350g, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water (squeeze well otherwise the pie will be soggy!)
Dill leaves, 15g chopped
Lemon zest, 1 1/2 tsp
Plain flour, to dust
Frozen puff pastry, 1 sheet
Greek or Persian feta, 130g, crumbled
Potato, 250g, washed, scrubbed and skin on
Do
Add 1 clove garlic, coriander, chilli, cumin, paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, a good grind of pepper and 2bs olive oil to a small food processor. Whiz to a coarse paste. Remove half of the chermoula and set aside. Add the remaining 4 cloves of garlic to the remaining chermoula and process until ground into a paste. Set aside both portions of the the chermoula paste until needed.
Add 2 tbs olive oil, to a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned. About 12 minutes.
Add the half of the chermoula paste with extra garlic (reserve the rest), spinach, 1 tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine.
Remove from heat, then add dill and lemon zest. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes.
Line a 24 cm tart pan with a removable base with a piece of baking paper large enough to cover the base and a bit over the sides.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to a 30cm square. Lay pastry in prepared tart pan, press to fit the base and side, and cut away any excess so it overhangs by about 2 cm.
Poke the base all over with a fort (about 10 times), then spread with the cooled spinach mixture.
Sprinkle feta on top, then srunch and pinch the overhanding pastry to create a rim. (It is unlikely to be perfect, don’t worry!)
Refrigerate, covered, for at least 20 minutes or overnight.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Use a sharp knife or mandolin or potato peeler to cut the potato into paper-thin slices.
Toss in a bowl with remaining 1 tbs oil, plus 1/2 tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper.
Fan out slices on top of the pie in a circular pattern, overlapping slightly, to cover the filling but not the pastry rim.
Place the pie on a try and bake until cooked through, and nicely coloured, about 50 minutes. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes, before gently transferring to a serving plate.
Stir lemon juice and remaining 1 tbs oil into the reserved chermoula and spoon half all over the pie.
Serve the pie warm or at room temperature with the remaining chermoula in a bowl alongside.
Experiment with different flavours. It works without the chermoula.