Spinach, feta and lemon pasties

Make a starring nibble for effortless entertaining. - by Ellie Vernon

Pablo Martin

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Ingredients

60g baby spinach leaves

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

125g Danish feta, crumbled

2 tsp ground sumac

1 tsp dried mint

Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season

3 sheets frozen ready-rolled shortcrust pastry, partially thawed

1 free-range egg, lightly beaten

Black and white sesame seeds, to garnish

Put spinach in a large microwave-safe bowl and add 1 tsp water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 45 seconds. Set aside, covered, for 10 minutes.
Use your hands to squeeze excess water from spinach, then finely chop and transfer to a second large bowl. Stir in lemon zest, juice and olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add feta, sumac and mint, then season and mix again.

Step 2

Pablo Martin
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C fan-forced (200 degrees C conventional). Line 2 oven trays with baking paper.
Cut a pastry sheet in half to create 2 rectangles, then cut each rectangle widthways into 3 to create 6 rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half on the diagonal to create 12 right-angled triangles. Repeat with remaining sheets to make 36 triangles.

Step 4

Pablo Martin
Put a tsp of spinach mixture in the middle of the widest end of each triangle. Starting at the spinach end, roll up the pastry towards the pointy end until the filling is enclosed and a croissant shape forms. Pinch the sides. Transfer pastries to prepared trays, seam-side down.

Step 5

Pablo Martin
Brush the top of each pastry with a little of the egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to garnish and bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden. Set pasties aside on trays to cool slightly before serving warm.