Soparnik
Soparnik is a traditional Croatian chard or silverbeet pie baked in a komin. Now I don't have a komin so I have had to find a way to make it in my oven.
Other names for soparnik are soparnjak, zeljanik or uljenjak. It comes from the Dalmatian region of Poljica, between Split and Omiš, it's actually heritage listed to this part of Croatia, by the Croatian ministry of Culture.
This has been a labour of love for me, a little like the Goldilocks and the three bears story. The first time I made it, I used a recipe that used too much silverbeet, so the filling was wet and my base was soggy and my dough edges were so thick, they couldn't bake properly. The second time I made it, I overfilled it again and I had a huge dome shape happen as it went in the oven, and it didn't go down once baked. But it had great flavour, I needed to try again. The third time was amazing. I followed a recipe that used a fraction of the silverbeet compared to the other recipes, so I could see finally what the filling should look like.
This is the video I used as a guide to help me get it right.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJg8RyT0fJI
This was honestly amazing and easy once you get a bit of practice.
The breadcrumbs are not traditional, but as my mother in law adds them to her strudels to soak up excess liquid from apples, I figured it would not hurt here as silverbeet has water in it.
DRY your silverbeet leaves well, water is your enemy here. I rarely pull out my salad spinner, but for this recipe I do. You can dry them with clean tea towels, before chopping also.
Add only enough water where your dough is no longer sticky. As flour can behave differently depending on the weather, you may not need it all, or you may need more.
The sea salt flakes I say are optional as I love it, but you may not need it.
Do not throw out your excess dough. I make it into a ball again, rest while your soparnik is baking, then, reroll it and stretch it out with my hand to make it as big as possible. Then I fill it with a thin layer of nutella and bake for about 20 minutes. No waste and my kids love it.
Other names for soparnik are soparnjak, zeljanik or uljenjak. It comes from the Dalmatian region of Poljica, between Split and Omiš, it's actually heritage listed to this part of Croatia, by the Croatian ministry of Culture.
This has been a labour of love for me, a little like the Goldilocks and the three bears story. The first time I made it, I used a recipe that used too much silverbeet, so the filling was wet and my base was soggy and my dough edges were so thick, they couldn't bake properly. The second time I made it, I overfilled it again and I had a huge dome shape happen as it went in the oven, and it didn't go down once baked. But it had great flavour, I needed to try again. The third time was amazing. I followed a recipe that used a fraction of the silverbeet compared to the other recipes, so I could see finally what the filling should look like.
This is the video I used as a guide to help me get it right.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJg8RyT0fJI
This was honestly amazing and easy once you get a bit of practice.
The breadcrumbs are not traditional, but as my mother in law adds them to her strudels to soak up excess liquid from apples, I figured it would not hurt here as silverbeet has water in it.
DRY your silverbeet leaves well, water is your enemy here. I rarely pull out my salad spinner, but for this recipe I do. You can dry them with clean tea towels, before chopping also.
Add only enough water where your dough is no longer sticky. As flour can behave differently depending on the weather, you may not need it all, or you may need more.
The sea salt flakes I say are optional as I love it, but you may not need it.
Do not throw out your excess dough. I make it into a ball again, rest while your soparnik is baking, then, reroll it and stretch it out with my hand to make it as big as possible. Then I fill it with a thin layer of nutella and bake for about 20 minutes. No waste and my kids love it.
This is a fabulous pie that is not too hard to make and a brilliant way to use up silverbeet growing in the garden or when a recipe doesn't use a whole bunch and you need to make something from a few leaves.
Recipe
Recipe adapted from Vegan Foodie Cooks
Makes 1 pie
Dough:
3 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of water
Filling:
5-6 big silverbeet leaves, stalks removed, roughly chopped, dried well
1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of green onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, optional
Topping:
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
parsley leaves, finely chopped, optional
Sea salt flakes, to taste, optional
Makes 1 pie
Dough:
3 cups of plain flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of water
Filling:
5-6 big silverbeet leaves, stalks removed, roughly chopped, dried well
1/4 cup of parsley, chopped
1/4 cup of green onion, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, optional
Topping:
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
parsley leaves, finely chopped, optional
Sea salt flakes, to taste, optional
Preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan forced.
For the dough: Add the flour, salt and oil to a mixing bowl. Slowly add the water in, stirring first with a spoon after each addition, then later with your hands. The dough should not be sticky. Rest 5 minutes, then knead for 4-5 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
Make the filling: To a large bowl add the silverbeet leaves, parsley, onion, salt, pepper and olive oil, mix well to combine.
Now roll the dough, it will feel soft and pliable. Cut the dough in two, one bit slightly larger than the other. Take the smaller piece, shape it into a rough circle, then roll out as thin as you can get it. Cut off any thick edges.
Line a large oven tray with baking paper, place your rolled dough on top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, if using. Place filling on top, make the filling flat and level, not dome shaped, so each piece gets the same amount of filling. Now shape your second dough piece into a rough circle and roll out like the first one, this piece needs to be larger than the first piece as it has to go over the filling, you can also use your hands to stretch it, but you don't want any holes. Cut off any thick edges. Place over the filling, gently press the edges together, cut off any thick bits. Tuck the edges under to make a nicely shaped soparnik.
Line a large oven tray with baking paper, place your rolled dough on top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, if using. Place filling on top, make the filling flat and level, not dome shaped, so each piece gets the same amount of filling. Now shape your second dough piece into a rough circle and roll out like the first one, this piece needs to be larger than the first piece as it has to go over the filling, you can also use your hands to stretch it, but you don't want any holes. Cut off any thick edges. Place over the filling, gently press the edges together, cut off any thick bits. Tuck the edges under to make a nicely shaped soparnik.
Place in your preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, until it is until the dough is golden brown and cooked to your liking.
Meanwhile in a bowl, mix together the garlic, oil and parsley, if using.
When the soparnik comes out of the oven, brush the garlic and oil mix all over the top. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, if you like.
When the soparnik comes out of the oven, brush the garlic and oil mix all over the top. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, if you like.
Cut up into diamond shaped pieces.
Enjoy!
