Spinach Samosas (Spanakopita) - Vegan Version
Katie Barry
Ingredients
6 tbsp Olive Oil (plus extra for brushing pastry)
2 Bunches Fresh Spinach (Roughly 4 handfuls) - Washed and stems removed
1 Bunch Spring Onions, Trimmed and finely chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped
40g Chopped Dill (Una put in roughly 1.5 tbsp)
900g Firm Tofu, Drained and Pressed (Una put 250g of Cauldron Tofu)
- Una uses less Tofu and 3 'Rounds' of Butternut Squash, chopped small
5 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dried Oregano
Dash of Ground of finely grated Nutmeg
75g Finely ground Walnuts (Una uses Pecans)
4 tbsp nutritional yeast (Marigold Engevito)
1 tsp Salt
Several Dashes of Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Box Frozen Filo Pastry, Thawed Overnight
Directions
Lightly Oil a 9x9 inch Square Baking Pan and set aside
In large heavey-bottomed pan, warm 2 tbsp of Olive Oil over medium heat for 1 minute
Add Spinach, Spring Onions, Garlic and Dill (Add the Spinach in bunches if pan is too full)
Sauté until completely wilted and soft and a good mount of liquid has sweated out of the greens.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature
In a large separate bowl mash the drained tofu (Use your hands for more control) to a smooth but slightly grainy consistency
Take the cooled spinach mixture by small handfuls and squeeze out as much liquid as humanly possible (Discard liquid)
Add the squeezed Spinach to the Tofu. Add the lemon juice and oregano, nutmeg, ground walnuts, the remaining olive oil and nutritional yeast.
Mix well with your hands, season with salt and pepper. Taste the mixture, it should taste pleasantly salty and tangy.
Make sure the filling has cooled to room temperature before stuffing into the filo dough
Lay one sheet of Filo Dough in a prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with Olive Oil. Lay another sheet of Filo Dough on top and brush with Olive oil again. Repeat with two more sheets of Filo. The sheets will overlap the pan
Spread the mixture into the pan and fold the overhanging dough over the filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of Filo Dough brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filing
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot
*Tips
Press Spinach between two plates to squeeze and drain
Make sure filo pastry is fully thawed and keep covered while working
For freezing, prepare to point where it goes into the oven, then freeze
To cook from frozen, take from freezer, put in oven, add about 20/30 minutes cooking time