Bulgaria cheese & spinach filo pie

I love Mediterranean food, particularly Eastern Mediterranean like Greek, Turkish and Lebanese which all share a similar cuisine. A Greek boss of mine used to make me spanakopita - spinach and feta pie - as a reward for good work, which was always a great way to make me happy!

This is my take on the Bulgarian version, banitza, which is made with Bulgarian sheep's cheese. To keep it interesting I also added sundried tomatoes, one of my favourite things! Bulgarian sheep's cheese has a distinctive pungent flavour, but use feta or even ricotta if you like.

To make it you'll ideally need an 8" loose-bottomed cake tin, one of the low-sided ones used for making a Victoria sponge.

Serves 4

• 250g frozen spinach, defrosted (or equivalent wilted fresh)
• 150g cheese, crumbled
• Filo pastry, approx 3 sheets
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 80g sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
• Handful pine nuts or sunflower seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Squeeze the spinach to wring as much moisture out of it as possible, then chop.
3. Mix with the crumbled cheese and tomatoes.
4. Pour in the egg, saving a tablespoon or so for brushing on the top.
5. Brush your tin with oil, then brush the first sheet of pastry with oil from the sundried tomatoes.
6. Layer the filo so that it covers the bottom while leaving enough to fold over the top. Repeat with the second two sheets, brushing them with tomato oil. Make sure the pastry is gently pressed into the edges of the tin.
7. Spoon the filling into the pastry and smooth it out.
8. Fold the remaining filo over the top. If any of it cracks or crumbles that's no problem, it will just make the top look more interesting.
9. Brush with the remaining egg and sprinkle with nuts or seeds.
10. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.
11. Leave it to cool, it's best eaten merely warm or even cold.

Variations

I used sunflower seeds here as I had some, they're a lot cheaper and I like their flavour. Use pine nuts or just leave them out.

You can make this in any size; double or triple the proportions for a large dish. When cool, cut it into portions as a party snack.

Banitzi are little individually wrapped cheese pies, which make great starters, snacks or as meze. Take a strip of filo a finger-length wide, a spoonful of filling, and roll up into a tube. Bake them for 15-20 minutes until golden.

Omit the tomatoes for a more "authentic" version.