Karen Wright: Get set for al fresco dining with a picnic pie ... with a difference

Karen’s delicious feta and spinach plait

Another recent bank holiday weekend over and, from a weather point of view, it was a bit cold and showery but at least we don’t have long to wait until the next one ... and I have put an order in for a scorcher!

When summer does make an appearance, we will no doubt all be keen to dine al fresco as often as possible.

Most of us love the idea of a barbecue or a picnic but in reality, they can sometimes be a bit ‘same old, same old’, with bangers and burgers on the barbecue and sandwiches and sausage rolls at the picnic.

I have been working on a couple of picnic pies and this is the first of them.

With a nod to Greece it is a huge feta and spinach plait, a bit of a spanakopita filling in a puff pastry case.

I made the pastry from scratch but of course shop-bought works well.

The filling was a couple of blocks of feta crumbled up, oregano, sliced spring onions cooked in a bit of oil to soften, and a bag of baby spinach wilted and drained really well. I squeezed in lemon juice and a bit of runny honey and gave it a good mix.

I rolled out my pastry into a large rectangle and, looking at it lengthways, I mentally divided it into thirds, placed the filling down the centre third and, using a pizza roller, cut strips about an inch wide at an angle to the four-o’clock position on the right and eight-o’clock on the left.

Using beaten egg and a pastry brush I brushed both sets of strips and then started to fold them over the filling, one strip at a time, alternating the sides. I brushed over the top of the plait as I went along.

I lifted the plait onto baking paper and popped it into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill while the oven heated up. With the oven set to 220c (200c fan) I placed a baking sheet in to heat up.

Then brushed the pastry again and sprinkled it with sesame seeds. I let it bake for about 30 minutes until puffed and golden.

I shall be teaching this class online on Saturday, May 8 with http://www.bakewithalegend.comBon appetite!