26.05.08: Spinach pie and spelt pasta with fresh sauce

Stuffed! He spent the afternoon making spinach pie, packed between papery, buttery layers of filo with the aforementioned spinach, feta, ricotta and a touch of parmesan. She jumped into the fray with a ho-made sauce of fresh baby plum tomatoes, white wine, capers, a big handful of basil, some chopped garlic, prosciutto, onion, and portobello mushrooms - spooned over some semi-fresh spelt pasta bought at the Richmond market. The salad of cucumber, grapes and leaves was rebelliously simple.

HE SAYS: The wet bank holiday at least enabled me to spend some time making the spanakopita that I hadn't attempted in about a decade without any guilt about missing out on frolicking in the non-existent sun. I set aside 3 hours to leisurely put this baby to bed, and so glad I did as it's quite a production. After creating the spinach filling I noticed the ricotta that we'd frozen and defrosted was not looking like it should, i.e. looked like a puddle of water; I had to nip out and get an emergency ration quick smart. When all the filling was prepared, the buttering and layering of the filo dough went smoothly and cooking was a breeze.

The result was very tasty and decadent and will be a nice lunch for the rest of the week. Her pasta was also great, very fresh tasting. The tomatoes hit the perfect sweetness and the capers and dash of white wine added just enough tart and savoury tang needed to round out the overall flavour. The posh bacon, sorry, prosciutto, didn't hurt neither. Salad was very green looking due in part to the inclusion of some green grapes that were camouflaged to the eye but not to the tastebuds.

SHE SAYS: The spinach pie was extraordinarily rich and delish - it's meant for lunch this week, but it sneaked onto the dinner plate somehow (whistles and looks away). The pastry was perfectly crackly and buttery, the filling herby and moist. My sauce was no slouch, either - can anything with prosciutto in it not be tasty? But even aside from that cheat, the tomato sauce itself was sweet and yumsome. The pasta gets a cheerful thumbs up, despite being a little pricey. The cool green crunch of the salad made just the right counterpoint to all the luxurious flavours and textures.