• Recipes
• Pastry
• Pies
• Spinach + feta hand pies

I was walking through one of my favorite farmer’s markets, and you know how there’s usually a general line up: the produce stand, the honey + jam stand, the pickle stand, the ostrich egg stand (yes, there’s always a man selling ostrich eggs), the bread stand, the poultry stand, the plant stand, and the baked goods stand. Well, I was passing by the bakers’ stand, which was filled with mini pumpkin + pecan pies, mini quiches, mini cheddar rolls (maybe it was a mini baked good stands?), and these hand pies, filled with spinach, onion, and feta. Quick to purchase and even quicker to devour, I ate this spinach pie before I could make it to the end of the market. But I had to have more, so I decided to make it at home. <br /> <br />Making dough from scratch sounds daunting and difficult, but it’s quite easy and manageable. You could buy dough or use your favorite. These are rustic hand pies, meaning they’re meant to look handmade - not professional and perfect. Pizza dough is quite elastic so it stretches and contracts as you roll and cut the dough, making every pie look different. The dough is airy, tender and crisp. And when you take that first bite - you might need to sit down for it. Spinach, feta, and onion are a classic combination, and rightfully so. The spinach adds a freshness, the feta a saltiness, and onion a slight tang. You don’t need to precook any of the vegetables and I usually don’t add salt because the feta is already salty. Just add the raw spinach, onion, and feta and it will steam and cook in the oven. Let the pastries cool slightly before eating, but they usually go pretty fast. I love having them along side soup or as a snack, but there are rarely any leftovers. I tried this also with Jarlsberg cheese instead of feta because I had that in my fridge, and that was also really good; because of the meltiness of Jarlsberg, it was definitely more pizza-like. But you could really add whatever ingredients you likr or have on hand (note: cheese is highly recommended). <br /> <br />The key to this recipe is simplicity. It’s not about making uniform hand pies, but about enjoying the baking process (and even more, the consumption!). I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. Have fun!

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