If you like spanakopita, you’ll love these sunny Greek-inspired filo pies

While spinach-filled spanakopita might be Greece’s most famous pie, the region’s pastry lineage runs deep – from Cyprus’s olive-studded eliopites to the savoury, cheese-laden tiropita.

At Etheus, overlooking the iconic sands of Bondi, executive chef Chris Benedet is serving a meatier evolution of these Mediterranean staples.

His version introduces loukaniko (Greek sausage), pairing the spiced meat with salty feta and spinach for a robust, all-day pastry. The finishing touch? A soft-boiled egg, split just before serving so the jammy yolk spills over the golden filo.

Here’s how to recreate the Bondi brunch staple at home.

Etheus’ sausage and egg eliopites

INGREDIENTS

• olive oil
• 60g spring bulb onions, sliced
• 100g baby spinach
• 60g rocket
• 2 loukaniko sausages, sliced
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped
• 60g feta, crumbled
• 50g ricotta
• zest of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• melted butter, for brushing the pastry
• 1 pack filo pastry (12 sheets), defrosted but kept covered
• sesame seeds
• 6 Australian eggs
• extra chopped parsley and feta to serve

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional).
2. Heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sweat the spring onions until translucent. Add the spinach and rocket, tossing until just wilted. Transfer the greens to a paper-towel-lined tray and refrigerate until cool; once chilled, squeeze out any excess liquid to ensure a crisp pastry.
3. Wipe out the frying pan, add another splash of olive oil, and gently saute the loukaniko until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
4. Once chilled, move the greens to a chopping board and roughly chop. Add them to the bowl with the sausage, along with the parsley, crumbled feta, ricotta and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, then mix until well combined.
5. Melt the butter and brush a 6-hole muffin tin, then set aside.
6. Lay a sheet of filo on your benchtop. Lightly brush with melted butter, top with a second sheet, and brush again. Cut the stack in half, then lay one half over the other at an angle so the corners don’t match up. Gently press the pastry stack into one of the muffin holes. Repeat with the remaining filo and butter until you have 6 pie casings.
7. Spoon the feta and sausage filling, then lightly fold the excess filo over the top, leaving a small gap in the centre for steam to escape.
8. Brush the tops of the pies with a little more melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 45 minutes until deep golden, then remove the pies from the oven and allow to cool before removing them from the tray.
9. While the pies bake, prepare the eggs. Bring a pot of water to a boil and carefully lower the eggs in. Start a 6-minute timer once the last egg is submerged. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer, then immediately transfer the eggs to cold running water once the timer sounds. Gently crack the shells and peel while still slightly warm.
10. To serve, nestle a soft-boiled egg into the centre of each warm pie. Finish with a scatter of parsley, crumbled feta, a generous slug of olive oil, and a final seasoning of salt and pepper. Using a sharp knife, break open the egg so the jammy yolk spills over the crisp pastry.

Makes 6 pies