Spanakopita/Tiropita
In honour of Day 14 of 14valentines. Today's subject is V-Day International. There's an essay on the subject here.
I've really enjoyed participating in this endeavour, and wow, fourteen posts in fourteen days, that feels like more than I posted in the last six months. I am well into my lj renaissance, and feeling the love.
By popular demand, today I'm posting my recipe for spanakopita. It's my own recipe, not a family secret, I just built it through trial and error, and a prodigious love of cheese on my part (if you, too, love cheese you might prefer the tiropita... hmmm... maybe I should include that too...), and a great love of pie (not the American sort) on dear old M's part. Yesterday I gave you the fiddly triangles, this is the full on pan version.
NB: Do not add salt to either of these recipes, the fetta and the butter are quite salty enough. You can add pepper if you like, though I usually don't bother.
NB2: When working with fillo, keep what you're not using covered in a damp teatowel to avoid it drying out.
Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
500g (1 lb) fetta, crumbled
500g (1 lb) cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1kg (2 lbs) spinach I use frozen, and find it perfect. Just make sure you let it thaw and squeeze out all the moisture before adding it. If you use fresh, you'll need to blanch it first, and then likewise squeeze it dry. Careful not to burn your fingers!
1 box fillo
500g (1 lb) butter
Combine the two cheeses and the eggs in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Stir in the spinach. How smoothly you beat that in is up to your personal preference; I like mine a bit chunky in places. Cover and set aside.
I bake this in a large roasting pan/baking tray. Ideally, find one that is the same size as your fillo sheets, that way you can just lay them in without cutting them.
Melt the butter in a cup in the microwave. Using a pastry brush, cover the bottom of the tray thickly in melted butter. Lay a sheet of fillo in. Brush it with butter. Lay on another. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Use half the box. Obviously the other half is for the top. By this method of counting, you avoid having a pesky small amount drying up in your fridge afterwards. Spread your cheese and spinach mixture gently into the be-pastried pan, pressing it in with the back of a large spoon. When it's all flat and even, start the pastry layering again. Be a bit more careful this time, because it's harder to brush on the soft base provided by the filling.
Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a gorgeous golden brown.
A tray this size would serve six people as a main course for dinner. In this case, I would generally make up a basic napoli/marinara sauce to ladle over the top of big slices, served piping hot.
Otherwise, cut it into small squares for hors d'oeuvres, served warm or cold.
Tiropita (Cheese Pie)
500g (1 lb) fetta, crumbled
500g (1 lb) cottage cheese
500g (1 lb) cheddar cheese, grated
6 large eggs, lightly beaten This quantity is required to bind the mixture strongly enough, otherwise it will ooze out all over your plate. Not inherently a bad thing.
1 box fillo
500g (1 lb) butter
Combine the three cheeses and the eggs in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. In this case, it is important that the egg be thoroughly stirred through. Cover and set aside.
I bake this in a large roasting pan/baking tray. Ideally, find one that is the same size as your fillo sheets, that way you can just lay them in without cutting them.
Melt the butter in a cup in the microwave. Using a pastry brush, cover the bottom of the tray thickly in melted butter. Lay a sheet of fillo in. Brush it with butter. Lay on another. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Use half the box. Obviously the other half is for the top. By this method of counting, you avoid having a pesky small amount drying up in your fridge afterwards. Spread your cheese mixture gently into the be-pastried pan, pressing it in with the back of a large spoon. When it's all flat and even, start the pastry layering again. Be a bit more careful this time, because it's harder to brush on the soft base provided by the filling.
Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a gorgeous golden brown.
This one I would not serve for a main course, because it is too rich to eat in huge quantities. Fine for eight to ten as a starter before the main course though.
Otherwise, cut it into small squares for hors d'oeuvres, served warm or cold.
I've really enjoyed participating in this endeavour, and wow, fourteen posts in fourteen days, that feels like more than I posted in the last six months. I am well into my lj renaissance, and feeling the love.
By popular demand, today I'm posting my recipe for spanakopita. It's my own recipe, not a family secret, I just built it through trial and error, and a prodigious love of cheese on my part (if you, too, love cheese you might prefer the tiropita... hmmm... maybe I should include that too...), and a great love of pie (not the American sort) on dear old M's part. Yesterday I gave you the fiddly triangles, this is the full on pan version.
NB: Do not add salt to either of these recipes, the fetta and the butter are quite salty enough. You can add pepper if you like, though I usually don't bother.
NB2: When working with fillo, keep what you're not using covered in a damp teatowel to avoid it drying out.
Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
500g (1 lb) fetta, crumbled
500g (1 lb) cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1kg (2 lbs) spinach I use frozen, and find it perfect. Just make sure you let it thaw and squeeze out all the moisture before adding it. If you use fresh, you'll need to blanch it first, and then likewise squeeze it dry. Careful not to burn your fingers!
1 box fillo
500g (1 lb) butter
Combine the two cheeses and the eggs in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Stir in the spinach. How smoothly you beat that in is up to your personal preference; I like mine a bit chunky in places. Cover and set aside.
I bake this in a large roasting pan/baking tray. Ideally, find one that is the same size as your fillo sheets, that way you can just lay them in without cutting them.
Melt the butter in a cup in the microwave. Using a pastry brush, cover the bottom of the tray thickly in melted butter. Lay a sheet of fillo in. Brush it with butter. Lay on another. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Use half the box. Obviously the other half is for the top. By this method of counting, you avoid having a pesky small amount drying up in your fridge afterwards. Spread your cheese and spinach mixture gently into the be-pastried pan, pressing it in with the back of a large spoon. When it's all flat and even, start the pastry layering again. Be a bit more careful this time, because it's harder to brush on the soft base provided by the filling.
Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a gorgeous golden brown.
A tray this size would serve six people as a main course for dinner. In this case, I would generally make up a basic napoli/marinara sauce to ladle over the top of big slices, served piping hot.
Otherwise, cut it into small squares for hors d'oeuvres, served warm or cold.
Tiropita (Cheese Pie)
500g (1 lb) fetta, crumbled
500g (1 lb) cottage cheese
500g (1 lb) cheddar cheese, grated
6 large eggs, lightly beaten This quantity is required to bind the mixture strongly enough, otherwise it will ooze out all over your plate. Not inherently a bad thing.
1 box fillo
500g (1 lb) butter
Combine the three cheeses and the eggs in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. In this case, it is important that the egg be thoroughly stirred through. Cover and set aside.
I bake this in a large roasting pan/baking tray. Ideally, find one that is the same size as your fillo sheets, that way you can just lay them in without cutting them.
Melt the butter in a cup in the microwave. Using a pastry brush, cover the bottom of the tray thickly in melted butter. Lay a sheet of fillo in. Brush it with butter. Lay on another. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Use half the box. Obviously the other half is for the top. By this method of counting, you avoid having a pesky small amount drying up in your fridge afterwards. Spread your cheese mixture gently into the be-pastried pan, pressing it in with the back of a large spoon. When it's all flat and even, start the pastry layering again. Be a bit more careful this time, because it's harder to brush on the soft base provided by the filling.
Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a gorgeous golden brown.
This one I would not serve for a main course, because it is too rich to eat in huge quantities. Fine for eight to ten as a starter before the main course though.
Otherwise, cut it into small squares for hors d'oeuvres, served warm or cold.