Morning Glory Spanakopita

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and prepare a large bowl of iced water.

To make the filling, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a low heat, then add the spring onion. Saute for a couple of minutes, or until soft and sweet, but without any colour. Once they’ve softened, transfer the spring onion from the pan to a small plate and allow to cool.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Blanch the morning glory for 1-2 mins or until it is vibrant and green, then strain and place the greens into the iced water until completely cooled. Working in batches, remove handfuls of the morning glory from the iced water. Gently squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible, then place on a tray. Once you’ve done this for all of the morning glory, sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of salt. Leave for 2 minutes. Next, transfer the greens to the centre of a clean tea towel. Roll up the veggies in the towel, then pat dry and give them another squeeze to draw out any more water – the idea is for it to be as dry as possible so that we don’t get soggy pastry later on. Once done, place the morning glory onto a board and roughly chop it.

In a large mixing bowl, add the morning glory, sauteed spring onion, dill, parsley, eggs, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, lemon zest, pepper and the remaining salt. Give everything a good mix until the ingredients are well incorporated.

Dismantle a 20cm (8 inch) round springform tin and place a piece of greaseproof paper on top of the base. Clip the top part of the tin in position to secure the paper, then brush the base with butter. Working with 2 sheets at a time, gently press half of the filo sheets (saving the other half for the top) into the tin, brushing well with melted butter. Ensure you are covering the bottom and sides of the tin with each layer.

Sprinkle the semolina onto the top of the bottom layer of pastry (this will help to prevent a soggy bottom), then add the morning glory mixture and spread into an even layer. Place 2 sheets of filo over the top of the filling and brush with butter. Take the remainder of the filo sheets and scrunch each into a loose ball and place over the top of the pie until you’ve filled all the space. Take the sides of the filo hanging over the sides and fold over to form a tight ‘crust’ around the sides. Brush and drizzle everything with more butter.

Transfer the tin to the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and crisp. Allow to cool for 10 minutes to allow the filling to set before serving.