Spinach & Feta Parcels

Spinach and feta - such a great combination. Can be used as filling for pastry parcels such as these, in muffins, as stuffing in chicken roll-ups... Or simply in salads. Spinach is also very healthy: it's a good source of zinc, very good source of dietary fibre, foliate, calcium, potassium and vitamins. Feta? Well, it is cheese, so it is quite high in saturated fat. However, because of its strong flavour, it only takes a tiny bit to add some flavour to a dish. And if you want to make these parcels a bit less sinful, you can use wholemeal flour instead of plain or add a spoon of bran to the flour.

Ingredients

Pastry

110g butter, cubed

1 egg yolk

1 cup flour (I used wholemeal, but plain white will do)

120g thick natural yoghurt

Filling

200g fresh spinach leaves

100g feta cheese

Instructions

Pastry 

1. Put the flour in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter. 

2. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining.

3. Add yolk and yoghurt and knead with your hands until the dough comes together.

4. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 10-15 minutes before using.

  
Filling

1. Shred the spinach leaves into smaller pieces (you can use food processor for that). Transfer to a frying pan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until it wilts. Remove from the hob and wring to get rid of any excess water. Place spinach in a bowl.

2. Crumble feta into the spinach and mix well using your fingers.

Preparing the parcels

1. Roll out the pastry and cut into 10 cm squares. 

2. Take a generous teaspoon of the spinach mixture and place it in the centre of each pastry square.

3. Fold up diagonally opposite corners, making a neat little envelope. Seal well.

3. Place the parcels on a lined baking sheet.

4. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown in 180 C.