Swiss Chard and Feta Filo Pie with Dill and Sesame
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Chard is the kitchen garden’s stubborn survivor: sown in spring, it shrugs off the July heat that sends spinach bolting, and by early September a single row throws out leaves the size of dinner plates on stems of white, gold and crimson. This pie turns an armful of them into something substantial — dill-scented, salty with feta, under filo that shatters when the knife goes in.
Strip the chard leaves from the stalks by folding each leaf in half along the rib and pulling. Shred the leaves into ribbons a finger’s width wide and dice the stalks into ½ in (1 cm) pieces, keeping them in separate bowls — stalks need roughly ten minutes longer than leaves, and cooked together the leaves turn to sludge before the stalks lose their squeak.
Wilt the leaves in a wide dry pan over high heat in three batches, tossing for 2–3 minutes until they collapse into glossy dark green and release a pool of water. Add no liquid: chard is over 90% water and will make its own. Tip into a colander and leave until cool enough to handle.
Squeeze the wilted leaves hard, a fistful at a time, until no more water runs out — you are aiming for around 1 lb (450 g) of dense green from your starting kilo. **Do not skip this step.** Every extra spoonful of water left in the greens turns the bottom filo layers into a grey paste during baking.
Warm 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat and cook the onion and diced stalks together for 10–12 minutes, stirring now and then. The onion should turn translucent with no trace of colour and the stalks should bend limply when pressed with a spoon. Add the garlic for the final minute only, until it smells sweet rather than sharp — browned garlic turns bitter and that bitterness carries all the way through a baked pie.
Chop the squeezed greens roughly and combine in a large bowl with the onion mixture, feta, ricotta, eggs, dill, parsley, lemon zest, nutmeg and black pepper. Mix with your hands rather than a spoon so the feta stays in curd-sized lumps. Taste before adding salt: feta brands range from mild to fiercely briny, and many need none at all. The filling should mound on a spoon without slumping.
Melt the butter into the remaining olive oil and brush a 9 × 13 in (23 × 33 cm) tin. Butter alone scorches over 50 minutes at this temperature; the oil raises the smoke point while the butter supplies the browning and the nutty smell. Dust the base of the tin with the semolina — it drinks up any residual moisture and keeps the underside crisp.
Lay 5 or 6 filo sheets across the tin, brushing each with the oil-butter and letting them overhang the rim. Spread the filling level, fold the overhang back over it, then cover with the remaining sheets, scrunching each one loosely into ridges rather than laying it flat — the ridges catch the heat and bake into brittle peaks. Score the top layers only into six portions with a sharp knife; cutting through a finished pie from cold shatters it, while pre-scored lines separate cleanly.
Scatter the sesame and nigella seeds over the top and flick 2 tsp of cold water across the surface with your fingertips — the steam lifts the layers apart as they set. Bake at 375 °F (190 °C), fan 350 °F (175 °C), for 45–55 minutes, until deep amber on top and the base sounds hollow and papery when tapped with a knife tip. Rest 20 minutes before cutting: the egg needs that time to firm, and steam trapped under a hot-cut pie condenses straight back into the pastry.
