Spinachio pie.

My brother gave me this great recipe book called Cooking outside the box by Abel and Cole

There are straightforward, easy recipes using seasonal fruits and vegetables with funny comments. Now, on the market just one minute away from where I live, they are now selling beautiful spinach leaves:

I used them to make this beautiful Spinachio pie from the recipe book:

first make the pastry:
mix 100g wholemeal flour, 100g white flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Rub 100g butter into the flour mixture to breadcrumb consistency and gradually add enough cold water until the pastry sticks together. If the pastry is too watery, add flour until you obtain the right consistency. Then leave it to rest for an hour or so. Preheat the oven to 200 degres.

Cook the spinach:

wash the spinach leaves.

Then place them in a saucepan with a lid and steam the spinach for 5 minutes or so. When it's steamed, drain the spinach to extract as much liquid as possible.

Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes. While the pastry is baking, separate an egg and whisk the white lightly with a fork. Take the pastry out of the oven and pour the whisked egg white into the base. Swish it around until it is covered, then pop the pastry back into the oven for a few more minutes to set the white. This will stop the pastry going snoggy when you put in the filling.

Make the filling:
Beat 225g cream cheese (ricotta, curd cheese, quark, fromage frais...) with 2 eggs and the yolk from the other egg. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, the well-drained spinach and 25g grated cheese (parmesan, gruyere, cheddar...).