Recipe: Spanokopita

This recipe is a hybrid of a few different ones I’ve found over the years and combined to make a pie to my own liking. This takes a bit of time to make, but is really very easy and looks impressive on a table. It’s best served alongside a green salad and some finger foods like olives or stuffed vine leaves. Yum!

Ingredients:

  • 2 x 300g packages of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 2 onions, chopped fine

  • 1/2 cup black olives, sliced (optional)

  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)

  • 6 garlic cloves, minced

  • sea salt, to taste

  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 5 eggs

  • 2 cups feta cheese, crumbled

  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

  • 1 tsp dried oregano

  • 1/4 cup butter

  • 1 x 450g package of filo pastry, thawed according to package instructions (I find whole wheat or spelt pastry adds a nice flavour)

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add onion and gently fry until onion is clear. If using mushrooms, add them to the pan with garlic, salt and pepper, and continue to cook until mushrooms are tender. Add spinach and cook for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add the cheeses, spinach mixture  and herbs.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine remaining olive oil with butter and melt in small saucepan. Brush 3-quart baking dish with mixture and cover with a sheet of filo dough. Let the edges overhang the dish. Cover with a second sheet of dough in a way that allows excess dough to overhang a different part of the dish. Brush with butter/mixture. Layer 4 more sheets of dough in the same manner, brushing mixture on every other sheet and varying the overhang of the excess dough so that the edges fan out over the sides of the pan.

Spread filling mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan, pushing it into the corners. Fold the overhanging edges of dough over the top of the mixture. Using 4 more sheets of dough, layer them over the top of the filling — being sure to brush every other one with the butter/oil mixture. This time, instead of letting the edges overhang the dish, push the edges down into the sides of the pan. Brush the top of the pie with the butter/oil mixture and make a few 1/2″ deep diagonal slashes across it with a sharp knife.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the crust is puffed up and golden; it will shrink from the sides of the pan.

RecipesMelissa Dimockpie, recipe, spanokopita, spinach2 Comments