Spring Greens, Feta & Lemon Pie With French Toast Crust

Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles

	350g trimmed greens (chard, watercress, rocket, adult spinach), roughly chopped
	45g soft herbs (I use 15g each dill, parsley, mint), chopped
	½ teaspoon salt
	2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to grease
	1 red onion, sliced
	1 leek, sliced
	8 eggs
	¼ cup bulghur wheat
	½ preserved lemon skin, washed and finely chopped
	200g feta, crumbled
	1 loaf white bread, thickly sliced
	300ml milk
	¼ teaspoon nutmeg
	1 teaspoon sumac

1.	Heat the oven to 175°C.
2.	Put the greens into a large colander with the chopped herbs and the salt and massage all together with your hands for about 1 minute.
3.	Leave for 5 minutes then massage again and set aside.
4.	Before adding to the rest of the filling, press down on the greens to remove the excess liquid – it doesn’t need to be all out, just give it a good press.
5.	While the greens are sitting, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the red onion, leek and a sprinkle of salt.
6.	Cook, stirring, for 15 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the greens.
7.	Beat together two of the eggs and season with pepper, then stir into the greens along with the bulghur wheat and preserved lemon.
8.	Fold through the crumbled feta.
9.	Grease a 2-litre baking dish (mine measures 28cm x 23cm) with olive oil.
10.	Cut the crusts off enough bread to lay in a single layer over the bottom of the dish, discarding the crusts.
11.	Lay the bread in the dish and spoon over the filling.
12.	Beat the remaining eggs with the milk and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
13.	Dip the remaining slices of bread into the egg mix, a few at a time, and leave to soak for a few minutes then lay them over the filling, overlapping a little.
14.	Pour over any remaining egg mix and sprinkle with sumac.
15.	Bake for 45 minutes until golden. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.