Spinach and Feta Pie – variations?

Definitely NOT classic Spanakopita.

Spinach and Feta Pie (Spanakopita?)

Naaah – not really Spanakopita; to call it that, I’d need to do it properly, as in Felicity Cloake’s “Perfect Spanakopita”.

Roasted Aubergine and Spinach Curry

A Gujarati dish which celebrates the silkily smooth smokiness of roast aubergines cooked with a heady amount of garlic … like the Irani Mirza Ghasemi.

Saag Aloo (not authentic, but it works!)

Not a recipe as such – just a quickie, short-cut, supper work-around. Which happened to work.

Chickpeas and Chard/Spinach

Nothing fancy, just a serendipitous combination. Simple, good eating, and satisfying – for the belly, the palate, and the eye.

Two tricks.

• Add fresh chard (which is much nicer, if you can get it/grow it), or spinach just before serving. You want it wilted – maybe only a minute for spinach, a couple of minutes more for chard – still green, still “fresh and vibrant”, but soft enough to “coat” the chick peas.
• And thyme to flavour the tomato sauce.

Bessara

Another memorable meal – this time one generously shared by a farmer near Akhmim, in Upper Egypt. Sadly, I haven’t yet managed to replicate his recipe to match my memory of it.  Green.  Aromatic.  And superbly delicious.

Lasagne

I remember the kitchen in Sanaa where I first made this; couldn’t get lasagne sheets, Ricotta,or Mozzarella in Yemen. And that particular day, after I’d spent hours hand making fresh lasagne … there wasn’t any fresh spinach in the souq around the corner.