Beef · General · Recipes
BySam
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I’ve had this recipe for beef florentine phyllo pie ontheback burner to do for ages. The one you get excited about when you first see it, put it away in storage and keep dreaming about making, but never get around to. That one.
A friend from Twitter raved about a beef florentine recipe that her mom made. I was taken by every aspect of the sound of it. Saucey beefcoveredin a layer of cheesyspinachand finished off with a crunchy phyllo pastry top, what is not to love.
Nowthebeauty about this recipe is you can really adapt it to your taste any way you like. I added a few bits and pieces to the original one and changed the proportions. I like a lot of spinach. This is a firmish dish which I think works really well as a pie, and you can get stuck in and take a goodsolidslice out of it.
You could add more sauce if you like it like that, or simply top your favourite bolognese with spinach and phyllo and bake.
You could also turn it vegetarian by roasting cubes of butternut in olive oil. Perhaps add a few sprigs of thyme and a sprinkle of dried chilli andthentop it as per the recipe.I think lamb would work wonderfully too.
A few of my other phyllo recipes can be found here:
apple phyllo pie with pecans and maple
zesty spinach and feta pies
mushroom and parmesan phyllo pies
roasted vegetable strudel
Christmas pudding strudel with chocolate
* A few notes on the recipe. Use any cheese you like with your cream cheese. I used a mature Cheddar and Parmesan combo, but choose whatever you prefer. I think a stronger cheese works well and adds depth of flavour tothisdish. I used a liquid stock concentrate and added a bit extra as I wanted the meatiness (hence my description of ‘concentrated’ beef stock). If you use a cube, crumble in a bit extra. If you want your spinach layer to be saucier, add 1/4 cup of cream or milk.
Recipe | serves 4 | 45 mins
Beef florentine phyllo pie
A delicious beef and spinach florentine pie with phyllo pastry
Print Recipe
Ingredients
For the beef layer:
- 1 T oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 500 g minced beef
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1 can of tomatoes 400g
- 1/2 cupfairlyconcentrated beef stock
- 1 t sugar
- pinch of dried chilli flakes optional
For the spinach layer:
- 300 g - 400g spinach removed from stalks
- 100 g mature Cheddar Gruyere
- 30 g Parmesan grated
- 100 gcreamcheese I used low fat
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- butter to coat the phyllo layers approx 80g
Forthephyllo layer:
- 6 - 8 sheets of phyllo depending on the sizer of your dish
Instructions
To makethemeat layer heat the oil in a wide non-stick frying pan and frytheonion until soft, about 5 minutes. Addthebeef and cook (breaking up any clumps) until the liquid has cooked off andthemeat starts to caramelise (go brown).
Addthegarlic and fry for another minute. Add the tin of peeled tomatoes, sugar, chilli and stock and allow this to cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has cooked off andthesauce has thickened.
To make the spinach layer: While your meat iscookingaway, heat a pot filled with water and bring it to a boil. Add the spinach and allow this to cook until it has wilted (about 5 minutes). Drain, rinse under cold water and set aside. When it's cool enough to handle, squeeze the spinach with yourhands, making sure you get most ofthewater out.
In aseparatebowl, add all the cheeses to the beaten egg. Roughly chop the drained and wring-out spinach and stir this through the cheese/egg mixture.
In anappropriatelysized baking dish spreadthemeat over the bottom layer and then cover withthespinach mixture.
To makethephyllo topping. Melt the butter in the microwave. Cut 3 pieces of phyllo to roughly the size ofthedish. Bush each sheet lightly with butter (covering the surface area) and place overthepie filling buttered side up. Repeat until you have 3 flat layers on the pie. Now using about 6 - 8 pieces (the same size as before), brush with butter and then fold these (buttered side down now) - scrunching it up as you go to create a ruffledeffect. Carry on until you havecoveredthe surface area of your pie with phyllo. Lightly brush over bits ofthetop phyllo, its not important to brush it all.
Bake in a pre-heated oven of 200C / 400F for 20 - 25 minutes until the phyllo has turned golden.
PS. you will see inthelast picture that I have folded the phyllo a different way like a concertina, you can choose whatever you prefer.
Author: Sam Linsell
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