Lamb, spinach and fetta pie

SERVES 6 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES (+ STANDING TIME)

¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil 2 medium (400g) onions, chopped finely 3 trimmed celery stalks, chopped finely 4 cloves garlic, crushed

1kg lamb mince

½ cup (125ml) dry red wine

1½ cups (375ml) vegetable stock

800g can diced tomatoes

⅓ cup (95g) tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves 2 cinnamon sticks

150g Greek fetta, crumbled

100g baby spinach leaves

2 sheets shortcrust pastry

1 egg

1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 Heat oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat; cook onion and celery, stirring, for 5 minutes or until vegetables are golden. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute.

2 Increase heat to high, add lamb to pan; cook, stirring and breaking up with a spoon, for 7 minutes or until browned. Add wine; cook for 2 minutes. Add stock, canned tomatoes, paste, oregano and cinnamon; cook for 35 minutes or until the liquid evaporates and sauce thickens. Cool.

3 Stir fetta and spinach into lamb mixture, season to taste; spoon into a 20cm round pie tin or 1.5-litre (6-cup) ovenproof dish.

5 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced)

Cut each sheet of pastry into ten equal rectangles. Place pastry rectangles, slightly overlapping to cover the filling. Brush pastry with combined beaten egg and egg yolk; sprinkle with salt flakes and fennel seeds.

6 Bake pie for 25 minutes or until pastry is deep golden; cover edges with foil if pastry starts to overbrown. Stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Suitable to freeze.

For individual pies, spoon the filling into six 1-cup (250ml) ovenproof dishes and cut the pastry into smaller rectangles. Overlap the pastry slightly to cover the filling and keep an eye on pastry while baking, the cooking time will be less than for a large pie. You can replace the spinach with silverbeet or kale if you like; remove and discard the tough centre stalks first.