I have a personal fondness for babanatsa – my recipe is simple yet results in a pie that’s nutritious and tastes divine. For the porridge-like mixture, I use a mix of cornmeal and regular flour (to balance the grittiness of the cornmeal), but you can substitute cornmeal for the flour if you want to keep it gluten free. Moreover, the filling can be adapted depending on what is available. I normally use greens and herbs that I buy from my local farmers’ market, but since most of those are not easily accessible outside of Greece, the base for this recipe is a mix of spinach, chard, leeks, spring onions and aromatic herbs. Again, as far as the aromatic herbs are concerned, you can substitute what I’ve listed below with local herbs that are easier for you to source, or you can simply use dill (just be sure to add enough extra dill to replace the full amount of aromatic herbs called for). Finally, to add more flavor, I mix crumbled feta in the greens and top the pie with plenty of sesame seeds.

For the porridge-like cornmeal mixture:

200 gr all-purpose flour

400 gr cornmeal

3 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

50 gr olive oil + extra to grease the pan

460 gr water

For the filling:

1 leek, chopped (green part too)

2 spring onions, chopped

½ kg spinach trimmed and roughly chopped

½ kg chard, trimmed and roughly chopped

3 tbsp Mediterranean hartwort, chopped

2 tbsp chervil, chopped

3 tbsp fennel fronds, chopped

3 tbsp dill, chopped

480 gr feta, crumbled

Salt & black pepper

Topping:

6-7 tablespoons sesame seeds

45 gr olive oil

A 35 cm diameter (approximately 14 inch) round baking pan

Step One
Wash, trim, and chop the greens, herbs, leek,s and spring onions. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with ¾ tsp salt. Start kneading them in order to try to draw out the water they retain. Squeeze out the water and place in a large colander and let sit for about an hour on top of a bowl, to further strain.

Step Two

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the round pan with olive oil.

In another bowl, prepare the porridge-like mixture. Mix the cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Form a well in the center and gradually pour in the olive oil while stirring with a spoon. Once all the olive oil is incorporated, start adding in the water, gradually, while stirring with the spoon. The final result should be a thick, smooth, and pourable mixture.

Step Three

Place the drained greens into a bowl, season with pepper to taste, and add in the feta. Mix well and set aside.

Step Four

Pour half of the cornmeal-flour mixture on the bottom of the pan and even it out using the back of a spoon or a spatula. Place the filling evenly on top. Add one spoonful at a time of the rest of the cornmeal mix on top of the greens and spread it out (this is quite sticky and you need to be careful not to disturb the filling, so I recommend using a non-stick rubber spatula, if you have one, or a wooden one greased with a bit of olive oil).

Step Five
Once all the mixture is spread on top, sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Drizzle or spray with the olive oil on top and bake for about 45-55 minutes until golden and crusty. Allow it to cool down for 10-15 minutes before slicing it.