Olive Branch Archives - HodgePodgeDays

In a few weeks time I’ll be hosting a celebratory picnic with some close friends. My mind is busy planning what I can serve up to my guests which is delicious, no fuss on the day and they will enjoy. I’ve sidestepped soggy quiche and I’m thinking a selection of different flavoured pinwheels might hit the spot. I was brainstorming some filling ideas when I found a jar of Olive Branch Sweet Olive, Fig and Almond Relish in my cupboard, and I wondered if this sweet and tangy relish would work in a pinwheel, thankfully it did and I’ll be making these Olive, Spinach and Feta Pinwheels again!

Recipe: Greek Inspired Olive, Spinach and Feta Pinwheels

Pinwheels are sheets of puff pastry, rolled up with a tasty filling and baked in the oven. They’re really simple to make; especially if you decide life is too short to make your own puff pastry and you buy the ready rolled stuff. It usually costs about £1 for a sheet so it’s quite economical.

Alongside the olive, fig and almond relish, I added chopped spinach, feta and a little bit of Cheddar cheese to the mix. The result was really different, a delicious sweet, tangy pinwheel with enough cheese and spinach to balance out the sweet with the savory.

Recipe: Greek Inspired Olive, Spinach and Feta Pinwheels

Greek Inspired Olive, Spinach & Feta Pinwheels

Makes 15

Ingredients
1 pack of ready-made puff pastry
A jar of Olive Branch olive, fig and almond relish
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
100g feta cheese, crumbled
Fresh black pepper
75g finely grated Cheddar cheese

Instructions
On a large board unroll the sheet of puff pastry, leave it on the paper it comes wrapped in. Spread the jar of relish all over the pastry leaving a bare edge along one of the long sides of the pastry. Spread it out as evenly as you can.

Scatter the chopped spinach and crumbled feta fairly evenly over the top of the relish and season with black pepper. I don’t think it needs salt as the cheeses make it quite salty. Scatter about 25g of the finely grated Cheddar cheese over the top, this will melt and stick it all together.

Recipe: Greek Inspired Olive, Spinach and Feta Pinwheels

Roll the pastry up along its long side, roll it us as tight as you can, as if you were making a Swiss roll. Wrap it in the paper in came in and put it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and carefully cut into rounds approximately 1.5cm thick. You should get around 15 pinwheels from this.

Place each round on a greased baking tray and top each one with a little of the finely grated Cheddar cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for 15 minutes or so. Because the relish has sugar in it, these feta pinwheels will be extra hot, so don’t be tempted to gobble them up straight from the oven.

If you don’t have a jar of the olive, fig and almond relish to hand, you could choose your own favourite relish. Alternatively a nice olive tapenade would be great in these Greek inspired pinwheels.

I am certain these Olive, Spinach and Feta Pinwheels will go down well at our celebratory picnic. They’ll be great with a nice chilled glass of prosecco on a sunny summers day!

If you enjoyed this pinwheel recipe, you might also like these simple cheese and onion pinwheels.

Recipe: Greek Inspired Olive, Spinach and Feta Pinwheels

I love making and eating filo pastry pies. They’re much lighter than traditional shortcrust or puff pastry pies and they somehow seem a bit more summery because of it. I often throw together a spinach and feta filo pie for a weekend lunch, they’re easy and absolutely delicious, a winning combination!

This week I was sent some Greek goodies from Olive Branch. They sent me a selection of their new salad dressings and some of their Greek mezze range. This had filo pie and a lovely Greek salad written all over it. I pulled a packet of filo pastry out of the freezer and set to work.

Greek Style Aubergine and Feta Filo Pie

The gift tube containing three jars of mezze I was sent included; Aubergine & Basil Paste with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Kalamata olives with fig and mint and Sweet Olive, Fig & Almond Relish. I’m a big fan of aubergine and I knew the paste would work well in my filo pie.

Olive Branch are an award winning UK based producer who use only the very best Cretan olive oil in their products. Their olive grove is situated outside the city of Ierapetra and is part of a co-operative of traditional olive farmers. They grow the Koroneiki variety of olive, harvested and cold pressed at the same community co-operative that has been at the heart of the community for generations.

Greek Style Aubergine and Feta Filo Pie

I made a small filo pie which was enough for a hearty lunch for one, but you could make a bigger pie in a bigger tin, just double up the ingredients. I used a 12.5cm loose bottomed tart tin. Loose bottomed tins are the best tin to use for filo pies.

Greek Style Aubergine & Feta Filo Pie

Ingredients:
2 sheets of filo pastry, fresh or frozen
100g feta cheese
2 tablespoons of Aubergine & Basil Paste with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil
Fresh black pepper
Dried oregano

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180° grease your tart tin with olive oil and put it on a baking sheet.

Take your two sheets of filo pastry and cut them in half. You will now have four squares of filo. Take one square and lay it in your tin, be careful as the pastry tears easily. Dab your first layer with olive oil and place the next layer over the first, do this so the corners are placed differently. Keep doing this until all four squares of filo have been used. It doesn’t have to be neat, it’s meant to look a bit rustic.

Put a tablespoon of the Aubergine and Basil Paste on the bottom of the pie, spread it around a little. Chop your feta cheese into cubes and fill the pie with it, add a few twists of black pepper and a large pinch of oregano. Top with another tablespoon of the Aubergine and Basil Paste.

Working layer by layer, fold the corners of each layer over the pie, dab each sheet of filo with olive oil as you go. The corners of the pastry should cover the pie filling and give you a nice scrunched up pie topping. Brush the pie with more olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Once cooked and golden brown, remove from the oven and carefully take it out of the tart tin. Serve with a big pile of salad (mine was dressed with Olive Branch orange balsamic dressing with extra virgin olive oil and it was the business!) and whatever Greek treats you fancy. Olive anyone?

Greek Style Aubergine and Feta Filo Pie