Upside Down Spanakopita by Dominic Franklin @Dominthekitchen

Inspired by a trip with his best friend in his teenage years, Dom's Upside Down Spanakopita recipe pays homage to the first time his eyes were opened to authentic Greek cuisine when visiting his friend's Grandparents on the mainland. Here's his take on the classic Greek dish...

This recipe is fresh out of Dom's brand new debut cookbook 'Upside Down Cooking', and is perfect for picnics and summer al fresco dining. Follow him on IG @dominthekitchen 

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• handful each of dill and mint, chopped
• 300g (10oz) feta, crumbled
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 100g (31⁄2oz) Greek hard cheese, such as kefalotyri (or Parmesan), grated
• 300g (10oz) baby spinach leaves
• 150g (51⁄2oz) butter
• 11⁄2 x 270g (91⁄2oz) packets of filo pastry, 12 sheets, roughly 41 x 25cm (16 x 10in), trimmed if needed
• salt and freshly ground
• black pepper
  
  

You'll need:

A large baking tray, roughly 38 x 27cm (15 x 10.5in), lined with baking parchment

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan/425°F/Gas 7).

2. Mark out a large rectangle on the baking parchment the same
size as the pastry and place it drawn-side down on the baking
tray. Drizzle over a little olive oil, then sprinkle with one-third
of the dill and mint. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Leaving a 1cm (1⁄2in) border, scatter a third of the crumbled feta
over the rectangle, followed by the shallots.

4. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining feta, the hard
cheese and the rest of the herbs, then mix well.

5. Lay one-third of the spinach on top of the shallots, creating
a sturdy pile in the middle of the lined baking tray with a
generous 4cm (11⁄2in) border around the edge. Spoon over
half of the egg mixture, then lay another third of the spinach
on top, followed by the remaining egg mix. Finish with the rest
of the spinach and gently press the whole lot down.

6. Melt the butter in a small pan and mix in the 2 tablespoons
of olive oil. Unroll the sheets of filo, keeping them in a pile.
Brush the top sheet of filo with butter and lay it, butter-side
up, over the spinach mixture. Continue until you’ve used all
the filo sheets. Scrunch the edges of the pie all the way round
and brush the top with more butter.

7. Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until darkly golden and crisp.
Remove from the oven and allow the pie to sit on the tray
for 5 minutes, then lay a piece of baking parchment on top,
followed by a chopping board and carefully flip it over. Peel
off the backing paper and cut the pie into triangles to serve.

📸 Upside Down Cooking by Dominic Franks (DR RED), Photography by Ellis Parrinder