Vegan Spanakopita
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Greek
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: Serves 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 kg bag frozen whole-leaf spinach
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 large onion, finely sliced
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ a package of super firm tofu, crumbled
  • ½ a package of vegan cream cheese like Tofutti
  • 4 slices of vegan cheddar cheese (optional)
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 package of ready-made puff pastry - I used the jus-rol brand which is vegan
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 200 C / 390 F. Start to thaw the spinach by cooking in a pot with a little water, cover and heat gently stirring frequently until completely defrosted. Transfer to a sieve or strainer to get rid of the as much water as possible.
  2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and fry the cumin for about a minute until fragrant, then add the onion and sautee until golden, before adding the thyme.
  3. Drain the water from the spinach with your hands and chop roughly, then combine with the onion mixture, season generously with lemon, salt and pepper and continue to sautee gently.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the crumbled tofu, cream cheese and nutritional yeast. This should make a creamy faux feta. Add it to the spinach mixture and roughly stir through - you could also crumble it on top of the spinach once added to the pie - either works.
  5. Grease a square baking dish using more olive oil and lay down about half of the pastry on the bottom ideally with the edges hanging over so you can fold over and trim later. Puff pastry is very difficult to maneuver (at least for me) so feel free to frankenstein the base if parts break off, it'll all come together in the end anyways.
  6. Spoon in the spinach and cheese mixture evenly. If you're in to a cheesier flavour, you could add some slice or shreds of vegan cheddar on top for a stronger flavour. Cover the pie with the remaining pastry and brush with olive oil .
  7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffy and golden brown, and serve at once!
Recipe by One Arab Vegan at https://www.onearabvegan.com/2015/03/vegan-spanakopita/