Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes

| Greek Cuisine

Spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie. This recipe serves 8.

a slice of Spanakopita.

Ingredients

• 900 g (2 lbs.) fresh spinach or 580g (20oz) frozen, thawed, and drained
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped scallions
• ½ cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ¾ cup small curd cottage cheese
• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 12-20 sheets phyllo pastry
• ⅔ cup clarified butter
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. salt (or to taste)

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350° F).
2. Wash the spinach, remove large stems, and chop. Place in a steamer over boiling water and steam for 2 minutes, or until wilted and reduced in volume. Drain, pressing out any liquid with the back of a spoon.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook over medium heat until slightly tender. Add scallions and cook until limp. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley, dill, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
4. Add the cheeses, spinach, and lemon juice to the skillet. Mix. Add eggs and mix again gently.
5. Brush a 9"x12" baking dish with some of the butter. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough across the bottom of the dish, covering the entire surface and letting the edges fold upward against the sides. Brush with butter, and place another sheet on top. Continue layering the phyllo (brushing each sheet) until the bottom of the dish is covered with about 8 sheets.
6. Place half of the spinach filling on top of the phyllo, smoothing out with a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.
7. Cover the filling with 5-8 phyllo sheets, brushing each layer with butter. Place remaining spinach filling on top and smooth as above.
8. Cover with 5-8 phyllo sheets, brushing with butter as above. Roll up all overhanging phyllo sheets and crumble any broken sheet bits on top. Drizzle any remaining clarified butter over top.
9. Place the spanakopita in the oven on a medium rack. Bake for 45 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

• I usually double or triple this recipe and make 2 huge baking dishes. This is just as fabulous as a leftover.
• Instead of phyllo pastry, my Greek mother-in-law taught me to use pizza dough purchased from the supermarket dairy section as a quick and delicious alternative.
• Please note that phyllo pastry has fewer calories than other doughs.