Spanakopita Recipe

Need to use up a load of spinach or just looking for a different type of pies? Let’s make this Spanakopita recipe and enjoy the Greek vibes!

Not everyone is cut from the same cloth,even less dish is made of the same ingredients. But sometimes, even when something is made of the same ingredients, it can turn into something completely different in its final form.

It doesn’t mean that one is better than the other or at least can’t be stated that simply, since adjectives are always used relative to the person using them. We fill our past experience and present feelings into every word we speak, creating an environment where our thoughts can rest securely until delivered to their recipients, much like fillings in a pie.

Spanakopita in Greek simply means “spinach pie” where the first part of the word “spanaki” means the spinach while the “pita”, also known from other dishes, is the pie.

Although, apart from the spinach, the rest of the filling’s ingredients aren’t that determining as the filo pastry that is used to wrap all the things around. If we want to stick to the true authentic Greek feeling, we may include feta, onions, scallion, maybe a bit of dill and parsley with our spanakopita but even Greek recipes stray from the ingredients if they feel like it.

In reality though, the cheesy version of spanakopita is called “spanakotiropita” where the middle “kotiro” part meant to indicate the presence of cheese in the spinach pie. Outside Greece, these little details have little meaning for the average spanakopita maker, so adding cheese and not indicating it in one form or the other only matters when there are vegans, dairy sensitive or Greeks are around our table.

The good news, for vegan and dairy sensitive people, is that spanakopita can be naturally made free of any dairy, like butter or cheese by, as mentioned, simply leaving out the cheese and use olive oil for its making. Mind not to use extra virgin olive oil as it can result in an overwhelming swirl of flavors that could be more than we are bargained for.

The easy method of making spanakopita is simply layering a baking dish with it, filling it up then closing the whole pie with similar number of layers but if filo pastry is our thing, this isn’t the best possible way to enjoy it.

Spanakopita can be made by wrapping the spinach filling into filo triangles which highlights the crusty crispiness of the filo pastry by enclosing the smooth filling between three crunchy corners.

Although, it may look a bit intimidating and unnecessary amount of work, at the end folding the filo pastry into triangles can end up less messy than brushing oil or melted butter between filo sheets, not to mention less calories.

If spinach pastry is our thing then spanakopita doesn’t need any promotion to be sold to our plate but those who can’t stand green things around the dinner table may have a harder time to get acquainted with it. The added cheese will definitely help lowering the dish refusal rate, not to mention that it boosts the otherwise sorry looking protein content a bit.

If counting calories is our thing then definitely opt for cooking oil instead of butter and look for low fat cheese. Mind that olive oil, even if it is not extra virgin, will change the end flavor considerably, providing a completely different, somewhat refreshing experience, comparing to the smoothness of butter.

It’s not like butter is better over olive oil (it’s not) or triangle shapes are tastier than the lazily filled pie (they are) but both have a place in our Greek dish arsenal that can wait safely until we pull them out for a big fat Greek night.

Ingredients

• 10 oz / 300g Spinach
• ½ teaspoon / 3g Salt
• 6 oz / 200g Feta cheese
• ½ cup / 150g Greek yogurt, ricotta or cottage cheese
• 2 pieces / 300g Scallion or onion
• 1 medium / 55g Egg
• 1 tablespoon / 3g Dill (finely cut)
• ½ Lemon’s zest
• 1 tablespoon / 5ml Lemon juice
• 2 cloves / 6g Garlic
• ¼ teaspoon / 0.8g Black pepper
• 16 sheets Filo pastry
• 4 tablespoons / 60ml Oil or melted butter

How to make Spanakopita

Filling

1. Cut the spinach up. Put it in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and let it sweat.
2. Stir fry sliced up green onion with oil, salt and black pepper in a medium high heat skillet until glassy / translucent look, for about 3 minutes.
3. Add finely cut garlic and dill. Reduce the heat and stir-fry until onion starts to turn brown, for about 10 minutes.
4. Place a handful of spinach in a tea towel then squeeze out tightly to remove excess moisture.
5. Mix spinach, eggs, feta cheese, lemon juice and the onion.

Assembly

Beginner

1. Brush the bottom of a baking tray with oil. Place one layer of filo pastry down. Sure we can trim the pastry to the size of our baking tray but only if we don’t want a crunchy top layer.
2. Brush it with oil again. Continue with the oil and filo pastry layers until 6 – 8 layers are laid down. (Depending on how many pastry we have available in the package.)
3. Spoon in the filling.
4. Continue with the filo pastry and oil brush with the other half of the pastry.
5. If we haven’t trimmed the filo then fold it up on top.
6. Place the spanakopita into the middle rack of a 390°F / 200°C preaheated oven until the top gets golden brown, for about 30 – 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Advanced

1. Lay one layer of filo pastry out then brush it lightly with oil.
2. Place another layer on top and repeat the brushing. Cut the pastry up into equal slices of at least 2″ / 5 cm.
3. Put about two tablespoons of filling onto the end of a slice.
4. Start folding the pastry up into triangles until there is pastry left. Just like its done with the flag folding. 1 2 3 4 5
5. Place the triangles into a baking tray and brush them with oil.
6. Put the spanakopitas into the middle rack of a preaheated 390°F / 200°C oven until the top gets golden brown, for about 30 – 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

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