Macedonian spinach pie
I first had these spinach pies (or pita, as it's called there) when hiking near Ljuboten a couple of years back. A very old lady invited us to her hut for a pita made with nettles and cheese. That was the best pie I've ever eaten. Since then, I've tried to replicate it at home with spinach (no success with Belgian nettles - tasted very grassy).
The pie uses a dough that is just a little thicker than phyllo.
Dough for one pie
250g of white flour mixed with water to about 50% hydration, with 2g of salt added. You need a dough that is rather dry - creases remain on the surface and the dough is not smooth at all. Rest the dough for at least 3 hours - I tend to rest it for at least 5. It is much easier to stretch if it has had more time to rest. By the end of the resting period, the dough is smooth and pliable.
Filling for one pie
220g spinach; 2 yellow onions, 110g feta
1. To make the filling: Saute onions until translucent, then add in spinach in three batches. Season with salt, oregano and pepper. Cook off as much water as you can - if there's too much you need to drain it. Towards the end, add a tablespoon of flour to make the mixture drier. Once the mixture is very dry, take it off the heat and let it cool on a plate. Let the mixture completely cool then add the crumbled feta before you make the pie.
2. To assemble the pie: Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Oil a big pie form (I prefer a cast iorn pan) with olive oil. Roll and stretch your dough until extremely thin. I start by using a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 2mm thick. After that, I stretch it out with my hands, starting from the sides, then draping it over my arms to stretch the middle of the dough - let gravity do the work. Stretch till the windowpane stage then lay it out on the floured counter to continue assembling.
3. Put some spinach mixture in a long horizontal manner at one end of the dough like a sausage. Roll the dough over the sausage until covered. Brush pastry that is covering the top of the sausage with olive oil, and make another round of pastry over the sausage. This sausage is now done. Use a knife to cut off the sausage from the rest of the dough. Make sure the ends are pinched closed. Assemble it in the pie form starting from the middle, like a snail, then broadening out. Make sure that the crease of the sausage is always facing down on the pan. Continue in this manner until your filling is finished.
4. To bake the pie: Brush the top of the pie and the sides of the outermost layer with olive oil. Put pie into oven and bake until golden brown, about 30-40 mins. And then you eat it.
Comments
Had this before, called borek (Börek or burek), quite tasty.
I had them throughout the Balkans, and indeed each country had their own version of it. I found the Macedonian version most charming - a slightly thicker, more robust dough.
A lovely bold and interesting pie, and I fully understand getting obsessed with trying to reproduce something in my own home kitchen!
This also explains your photo about developing gluten! Think it is harder to do with hairy forearms, mine might not come out quite as well.
-Jon
That made me laugh, Jon. I reckon with more skill I could toss and stretch without using my arms. Am getting there, though this method works really effectively and quickly for now!
Your version looks great! It seems to be a lot lighter on the fat too.
I don't think I've ever gotten such a stretch of windowpane before.
You should keep data: weight of dough and square area!!
Good idea, I shall do that the next time around!
The windowpane was a surprise to me too. I only managed to get it with a much lower hydration. It's really convenient that I don't need to knead the dough at all to get this.
Just AP or was it higher in protein?
I've managed with anything between 10 to 14g protein. More important that the flour is finely ground and quite refined (low ash content).
Lin these are amazing and are a labour of love I’d say. Getting that dough stretched out, incredible! I’ve always wondered what sting nettles taste like, I’ve never had the opportunity to taste them. Wonderful bake.
Benny
They taste quite leafy, neutral in taste. The ones that I plucked in Belgium ended up a little bitter, so they were less ideal.
Thanks for your kind words, Benny! I bake these once a week - the kids love it. I used to take an hour to roll and fill each pie; now I've managed to get it done in half the time with a much drier dough.