29 Dec Cheezy Spinach Triangles

These are easy to make, and even easier to eat!! Yummy, crunchy cheezy triangles of deliciousness. Stuffed with spinach (or chard) and a hit of dill, they’re reminiscent of  a Greek pie, but veganised and made cute for eating whilst chatting and sipping wine. 

I love veganising old favourite recipes and surprising my friends and family with them at parties or when they’re over for a small dinner or drinks gathering and these little triangular pies are a perfect example of that. I don’t think anyone who has eaten them hasn’t loved them, and come back for seconds, or even thirds. 

The cheezy base to the filling is one I roll out in various guises for other dishes too. It’s a really versatile creamy cheeze that makes a great topping for moussaka, or crumbed and turned into delicious croquettes. 

Filo pastry is easy to buy in most supermarkets. If you buy it frozen, make sure you thaw it overnight in the fridge so it is easy to work with. It needs to have olive oil slicked between the layers for a crunchy golden finish. To create the triangle shape, I oil one sheet of filo, cut it in half length-ways and fold it in half  so I have a long, thin piece of pastry. I then put a little bit of filling in a sort of triangle shape at the bottom short edge, and fold it up in a triangle shape until I reach the top. The first few always look a bit dodgy, but they taste great, so no one will care! 

Make loads of these for a party, and chill, ready to reheat and crisp up again in the oven to serve to guests. Or just keep some in the deep freeze ready to heat up for snacks! 

Print

Cheezy Spinach Triangles

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

A delicious canape or appetiser that is full of delicious cheezy spinach flavour wrapped in crunchy filo pastry. Perfect for parties! 

Course: Appetizer, Canape

Servings: 18

Author: Louise-Claire Cayzer

Ingredients

For the Cheezy Mix

• 125 grams broken raw cashews
• 150 grams tofu
• 3-4 tsp white miso
• 4 tsp nutritional yeast
• juice third lemon

For the Spinach Filling

• 1 packet (around 250g) spinach or chard with stems removed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp olive oil

For the Crunchy pastry

• 1 packet filo pastry
• approx 3 Tbs olive oil

Instructions

For the Cheezy Filling

1. Soak the cashews for at least 1 hour in some warm water. You want them to be quite softened
2. In a high speed blender, blend the cashews with a little of their soaking water until completely smooth
3. Add the tofu and blend

4. Add the miso, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt. Blend again. Taste for cheezyness and add more miso or nutritional yeast to taste. 

For the Spinach Filling

1. Gently sautee the garlic in a deep frying pan until slightly translucent.

2. Add all the spinach (you might need to add it in bits if your pan is small. Don't worry, spinach pretty much disappears when heated!

3. Once cool, chop the spinach up and mix into the cheezy filling mix along with the dill. 

To assemble the Cheezy Triangles

1. Take one sheet of filo and brush olive oil all over it.  Keep the other sheets covered so they don't dry out!

2. Cut it into half length ways and fold it over length-ways so you end up with a long thing piece of pastry.

3. On one short edge, add a heaped teaspoon of filling in a sort of triangle shape in the corner 

4. Fold the filled side over, so it makes a triangle shaped parcel. Keep folding over until you run out of pastry. Put it on a greased oven proof tray. 

5. Repeat with all the other pieces of filo pastry (there are usually around 10 in each packet) until you run out of filling or pastry. You should be able to make between 18 and 20, depending on how generous you are with the filling.

6. Bake in the oven on Gas Mark 7/220c for around 10 minutes until golden and crispy.  Serve warm!

7. 
   

Recipe Notes

These are freezable for up to 3 months or refrigerate for 2-3 days until needed. Reheat in an oven to heat and crisp up for around 10 minutes.