This Traditional Greek Spinach Pie without the Filo (Blatsaria) is a rustic, savory pie from the Epiros region in northwestern Greece, where I was born, and is composed of leafy greens, fresh herbs and Feta cheese. The region is famous for all sorts of savory pies. In older times, people used whatever greens were at hand; they would simply go out into the fields to forage for wild greens to use as a filling for this deliciously savory pie.
The intriguing detail of this pie is its crust. Instead of the usual layers of delicate filo pastry–the classic binder for most savory Greek pies (such as traditional spanakopita)–we use a batter of cornmeal and yogurt to form a crispy, crunchy crust for the bottom and the top.
The filling for this wholesome and super healthy pie consists of fresh spinach, young leeks, spring onions, fresh dill, fresh parsley, sea salt, ground black pepper, olive oil and crumbled Feta cheese. This delicious filling is adaptable and can be made year ’round with whatever cooking greens are available for that season.
Both the filling and the cornmeal batter can be prepared well ahead of time and assembled just before baking. The only equipment you will need is a shallow, 11″ or 12″ pizza pan. In the olden days this pie was baked in round copper pans in baked in wood-burning ovens!
Ingredients for an Authentic Greek Blatsaria
- Spinach: fresh, never frozen, spinach. You can also add a variety of cooking greens, such as Swiss chard, or, rainbow silverbeet. Whichever you choose, do not pre-cook your spinach and the tender leafy greens
- Leeks & green onions: add sharpness to the filling
- Fresh herbs: dill and parsley are great complements to the greens. Dried herbs are not suitable substitutes for fresh in this recipe
- Feta: Greek Feta cheese is a must; choose the traditional Greek Feta that comes in brine
- Olive oil: good extra virgin olive oil…always
- Flours: a combination of cornmeal, semolina, and all-purpose flour
- Yogurt: a great addition to the batter, however, you can also use just milk
- Butter: just a little bit for both the pan and for the topping
How to make the Traditional Greek Spinach Pie Without the Filo (Blatsaria)
Prep all ingredients: chop the greens, mince the herbs, mix the flours and crumble the Feta cheese
Top the cornmeal base with the mixture of greens, herbs, Feta cheese, olive oil, and seasoning
Spread the remaining (thinner) batter over the mixture of greens. Top with olive oil and butter then bake
Bake the savory pie until the top and edges are crispy and golden brown
Allow it to cool slightly before cutting
Cut it into squares and serve
You can enjoy it on it’s own, still warm out of the oven, or…
…even better, you can enjoy it with Greek yogurt, which is the traditional way!
- For the filling:
- 12 oz. fresh spinach, chopped
- 3-4 green onions, chopped
- 1 medium leek (about 6 oz.), trimmed and chopped finely
- --- sea salt
- 4 TBSP. fresh dill, minced
- 4 TBSP. fresh parsley, minced
- 6 - 8 oz. block of Greek Feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 4 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
- For the cornmeal batter:
- ½ cup corn meal (I used Indian Head stone ground corn)
- ½ cup semolina flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 4 oz. plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1¼ cups water (divided)
- 2 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 TBSP. butter, cut into pieces
- Prepare the greens: wash and spin-dry the spinach. Chop it and place it in a large colander set over a large bowl. To the same bowl, add the trimmed and chopped leek. Sprinkle everything generously with some sea salt, mix well, and set aside for 15 minutes (the salt will draw the moisture out of the vegetables).
- Prepare the aromatics: chop the green onions, mince the dill and the parsley, and place them in a small bowl.
- Add the Feta and egg: crumble the Feta cheese, lightly whisk the egg, and add both to the small bowl with the aromatics.
- For the greens: squeeze the spinach and leeks over the colander with your hands in order to reduce their volume and drain most of the moisture they retain. To do this, take handfuls of the greens in your palms and just press to squeeze out the water. This is an important step so we have a mostly dry mixture.
- Get the filling ready: remove the (now dry) vegetables from the colander and place them in a large bowl. To this, add the green onions, fresh herbs, Feta cheese, and egg, then season everything with the salt and pepper and drizzle the entire mixture with the olive oil. Mix everything together and set aside.
- Make the cornmeal base: stir the corn meal, semolina, all-purpose flour, sea salt, yogurt, and ¼ cup olive oil together in a mixing bowl. Add 1 cup plus 2 TBSPS. of the water and stir again; the mixture should resemble a very thick pancake batter.
- Prepare the pan: brush some butter on the bottom and sides of a shallow, 11"-12" pizza pan. Sprinkle about 1 to 2 TBSPS. of semolina flour over the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Preheat the oven: place a rack in the middle of the oven and set it to 375°F convection bake (also known as "fan" or "fan assisted"). If your oven does not offer this setting, just use the regular bake setting and cook it a little longer.
- The base of the pie: spoon about ⅔ of the cornmeal batter over the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to spread the mixture evenly and all the way to the edges.
- Top with the greens: top with the greens mixture, and spread it evenly over the base. With a spoon, or, with your hands, press gently the greens into the cornmeal base itself.
- The top of the pie: stir in the remaining 2 TBSPS. of water to the bowl containing the remaining ⅓ of the cornmeal batter, and mix well. This mixture should now be a thinner consistency than the base, (like a thinner pancake). If it is not, add another 1-2 TBSPS. of water to thin it out. Using a spoon, drizzle the thinner batter over the greens (it will not completely cover them - some greens will still peak through, as in the photo).
- Bake: drizzle the olive oil and scatter the cubes of butter over the top of the pie. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or, until the top is nicely browned.
- Enjoy: remove the pie from the oven, let it cool down for 15 minutes, cut it into squares, and enjoy it with some Greek yogurt on the side!
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