Spanakopita

I think it's because I didn't fancy drinking turpentine. Ouzo, raki, that sort of thing.

That's about the only reason I can think of for never having visited Greece. And lots of people tell you bad things about the food. Lukewarm, greasy, salmonella added at no extra cost. All of which sounds as sensible as declining to visit Scotland because your Granny had a bad meal in 1978, and you don't fancy a deep fried Mars Bar. I know, I know.

But it does mean that my knowledge of Greek cuisine (and, come to think of it, food of the eastern Mediterranean in general) is limited. The advantage of that is that there are surprises to be had. I first tried spanakopita just a couple of years ago in La Casa in Edinburgh's Dalry Road. Seeking a change from my usual standard dishes, last week I found myself in possession of some filo, some feta and some spinach. Only one dish was calling me.

This is actually a fairly simple pie. Look at recipes and you may be put off because you don't have large amounts of herbs. They may call for large quantites of dill and parsley. Some will have you sauteing lots of onion and spring onion. Others stipulate garlic, which I don't think is authentic. One which I found called for a good quantity of sun dried tomato. I don't much care. It's your pie - put in it what you will. I kept mine very simple, and rather good it was too.

A couple of pointers. Cooking spinach is remarkably easy. Just put it in a pan with a tiny amount of water and some salt, and heat gently. In a few minutes it will literally wilt. When it has cooked down, drain (there shouldn't be much water to pour off) and allow to cool. When it's cold enough to handle, squeeze it a few times to get rid of as much liquid as you can, and allow to cool completely. I used one standard size supermarket pack of young spinach.

Apart from one nutcase on Masterchef, I have never seen or met anyone who has made filo pastry from scratch. Jusrol do it perfectly well. Their standard packs contain 7 sheets, but they are very large and can be cut into two. When dealing with filo, work quickly and have to hand a little bowl of oil and a pastry brush. It does dry out very fast. Once your pie is cooked it's quite fiddly to cut. For that reason it's easier to cut guidemarks for your slices into (but not through) the pie before you put it in the oven.

I used a round pie dish 22cm in diameter. You will need a pastry brush.

Ingredients (this yielded 8 slices)

Quantity of spinach, wilted, drained and coarsely chopped; 8 sheets of filo, each large enough to cover your pie dish; 120g feta cheese; 1 egg; herbs of choice (see above - I used a handful of finely chopped fresh mint and a pinch each of dried thyme and oregano); small bowl of olive oil; s & p.

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Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

First prepare the filling. Crumble the feta into a bowl. Add an egg. Season with your herbs of choice (see above), salt and pepper. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. Add to the egg and cheese and mix well. Check the seasoning again - a pie filling often needs more than you might think.

Brush the bottom of your pie dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Put the first piece of filo in the dish (it doesn't matter that it's overhanging). Brush that with oil. Repeat until you have four layers of pastry in the bottom. Spread the mixture evenly in the dish. Fold any overhanging pastry into the centre and brush the edges with oil. One at a time, add another four layers of pastry on top, brushing each one as before. Tuck any overhanging pastry down the sides of the dish. Another brush of oil on the top and you're good to go.

Cut into (but not through) the pie where you will want to slice it when cooked. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Sad News

Like many in the world of licensing, I'm still coming to terms with the news this week of the sudden death of Janet Hood. Janet and I had known each other since university days and shared a love of food. More weeks than not she would add a pithy comment to one of the Tom's Food! columns. I was exchanging emails with her just a few hours before she died. Deepest condolences to her husband Al, son Johnny and to her grandchildren.

Janet was truly a one off. We shall not see her like again.