Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Spanakopita (Greek spinach and feta pie)



The classic and famous Greek savory pie, stuffed with feta cheese and spinach creaminess between crunchy phillo dough layers.
I've documented various sources for this recipe and in the end I stuck (mainly) to this one.

Last year: Cucumber salad with poppy-seed vinaigrette (raw vegan)
Two years ago: Mexican corn-cakes with avocado-scallion salsa and refried beans, Crispy baked chicken with Teriyaki sauce and Potato and herring salad.



Ingredients:
  • 250 g phillo dough sheets (1 package)
  • 30-40 g melted butter for brushing
  • 1 kg spinach (fresh or frozen)
  • 400 g feta cheese
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium yellow onions
  • 4-5 garlic cloves
  • 1 leek
  • 1 bunch fresh dill (30 g)
  • 2 eggs
  • salt and pepper
  • some green onion (scallion) leaves for decorating (optional)

Prepare by washing and peeling (where necessary) the leek, garlic and onions.

Chop up the garlic and let it fry on low heat in the olive oil:

After 2-3 minutes, also add the chopped onions and leek. Let the whole thing slowly fry for 15 minutes, stirring once in a while.
In the meantime, prepare the feta, eggs and dill.

Chop the dill and lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper. If you're using fresh spinach wilt it with a bit of boiling water.
When the onions and leek look softened and slightly golden, turn off the heat and add the spinach and dill:

Mix well. Crumble or finely chop the feta cheese. Add it to the spinach mass, together with the beaten eggs, and mix again well. The filling is done.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Melt the butter and start brushing each dough sheet with it, topping it with the next sheet:

After 3-4 sheets (depending on the number the pack contains) top them with half of the spinach mix.

Top with another 3-4 sheets (again, buttering each one), then the other half of the filling, and finish with another layer of dough sheets. (If the finishing layer contains fewer sheets - like 2, it's fine). Don't forget to also butter the top.
With a sharp knife, gently cut the pie into squares (it will be impossible after baking without turning everything into a crumbled mess):

Put it in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Take out, allow to cool a bit, transfer to serving plates...

... and dig in! :)

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