Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)
I just made this. There are a lot of recipes out there for Spanakopita. I came up with this one myself.
Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)
Ingredients
2 med Onions, chopped
1 bunch (4.5 oz) Scallions, chopped
4 Tbsp Butter
1/4 tsp grated Nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground black Pepper
1 Tbsp dry Dill Weed
1 Tbsp dry Parsley
2 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped Spinach
8 oz Feta, crumbled
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 (1 lb) pkg Phyllo pastry sheets (17-21 sheets 14"x18")
Instructions
Defrost the phyllo dough and the spinach. Frozen phyllo dough needs to be defrosted the previous night and brought to room temperature before using.
Preheat the oven to 350F
Chop the onions and Scallions and saute lightly in butter.
Add the spices. Defrost the spinach and squeeze dry. Add the spinach to the onion mixture and heat through. The mixture should be dry to keep the phyllo from getting soggy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Mix in the crumbled feta cheese and eggs.
Line a 9"x13" baking dish with half the leaves of phyllo. Brush each sheet with butter before laying the next.
Spread the spinach mixture over the phyllo dough and fold the edges of the phyllo sheets over the mixture.
Cover the spinach with the remainder of the phyllo sheets brushed with butter.
Cut the top sheets into as many pieces as you want before baking. They will be very difficult to cut afterward. (You can freeze the pan at this time for cooking later.)
Put the pan in the preheated oven and cook 30-40 minutes until the the crust is a deep golden brown.
Spanakopitakia (Little Spinach Pies)
Lay out a single sheet of phyllo and fold it in half lengthways forming a long strip, and brush it with butter, Repeat with 2-3 more sheets.
Place a large spoonful of the spinach mixture in one corner of the sheets. Don't be stingy with the spinach. Fold that corner over, forming a triangle, and brush the top with butter. Fold the triangle up and brush with butter. Continue folding and bushing until you reach the end of the phyllo sheets. Place the finished triangle on a baking sheet. When I made the Spanakopitakia I used 1 cup of butter and a 1/4 cup of olive oil for brushing the phyllo. (Makes 7 individual pies.) (You can freeze them at this time and cook them individually as needed.)
Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
If you fold the sheets into narrower strips you can make smaller mini pies. The smaller pies can be made one sheet of phyllo per pie.
About the Dish
This recipe doesn't call for salt because the feta cheese is salty enough. You can substitute olive oil for the butter or use half butter and half olive oil. The scallions are needed in addition to onions to add sweetness. If you don't have any spinach you can use other mild leafy greens such as chard. Some recipes use leeks, mint, garlic, lemon juice, and ricotta. But this recipes is just perfect for me.
Spanaki means spinach in Greek. Pita means pie. Kia is a diminutive. So Spanakopitakia are little spinach pies.
Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)
Ingredients
2 med Onions, chopped
1 bunch (4.5 oz) Scallions, chopped
4 Tbsp Butter
1/4 tsp grated Nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground black Pepper
1 Tbsp dry Dill Weed
1 Tbsp dry Parsley
2 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped Spinach
8 oz Feta, crumbled
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 (1 lb) pkg Phyllo pastry sheets (17-21 sheets 14"x18")
Instructions
Defrost the phyllo dough and the spinach. Frozen phyllo dough needs to be defrosted the previous night and brought to room temperature before using.
Preheat the oven to 350F
Chop the onions and Scallions and saute lightly in butter.
Add the spices. Defrost the spinach and squeeze dry. Add the spinach to the onion mixture and heat through. The mixture should be dry to keep the phyllo from getting soggy. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Mix in the crumbled feta cheese and eggs.
Line a 9"x13" baking dish with half the leaves of phyllo. Brush each sheet with butter before laying the next.
Spread the spinach mixture over the phyllo dough and fold the edges of the phyllo sheets over the mixture.
Cover the spinach with the remainder of the phyllo sheets brushed with butter.
Cut the top sheets into as many pieces as you want before baking. They will be very difficult to cut afterward. (You can freeze the pan at this time for cooking later.)
Put the pan in the preheated oven and cook 30-40 minutes until the the crust is a deep golden brown.
Spanakopitakia (Little Spinach Pies)
Lay out a single sheet of phyllo and fold it in half lengthways forming a long strip, and brush it with butter, Repeat with 2-3 more sheets.
Place a large spoonful of the spinach mixture in one corner of the sheets. Don't be stingy with the spinach. Fold that corner over, forming a triangle, and brush the top with butter. Fold the triangle up and brush with butter. Continue folding and bushing until you reach the end of the phyllo sheets. Place the finished triangle on a baking sheet. When I made the Spanakopitakia I used 1 cup of butter and a 1/4 cup of olive oil for brushing the phyllo. (Makes 7 individual pies.) (You can freeze them at this time and cook them individually as needed.)
Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
If you fold the sheets into narrower strips you can make smaller mini pies. The smaller pies can be made one sheet of phyllo per pie.
About the Dish
This recipe doesn't call for salt because the feta cheese is salty enough. You can substitute olive oil for the butter or use half butter and half olive oil. The scallions are needed in addition to onions to add sweetness. If you don't have any spinach you can use other mild leafy greens such as chard. Some recipes use leeks, mint, garlic, lemon juice, and ricotta. But this recipes is just perfect for me.
Spanaki means spinach in Greek. Pita means pie. Kia is a diminutive. So Spanakopitakia are little spinach pies.