Cooktop Cove: Everyone will eat their veggies, thanks to this tasty spinach pie
By Emily Monaco
Greek spinach pie, perhaps better known as spanakopita, is a delicious way to serve up Popeye's favorite iron-rich veggie. In the recipe below, cooked spinach is sandwiched between two layers of flaky phyllo dough. Seasoned with fresh herbs and tangy feta cheese, it's a mouth-watering vegetarian dinner.
This version of spanakopita is easy to make for a crowd, but the filling can just as easily be folded into individual pockets or triangles for a one-bite hors d'oeuvre or appetizer. Either way, be sure to work quickly with the phyllo dough, which has a tendency to dry out within minutes and then becomes much more difficult to fold.
Spanakopita
12
20 minutes
1 hour
1 hour 20 minutes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 pinch salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
4 eggs
10 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
16 ounces phyllo dough
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and the pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Squeeze any excess liquid out of the spinach. Chop into bite-sized pieces and add to the skillet. Toss to combine with the aromatics, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Beat the eggs and add the feta, dill, parsley and pepper. When the spinach is cool, incorporate it into the rest of the filling ingredients.
Use a pastry brush to thoroughly grease a 9-by-13 casserole dish with olive oil. Lay a phyllo dough sheet in it, then brush with olive oil, and top with another sheet of dough. Repeat until you have used up half of the phyllo.
Pour the filling over the top, using a spatula to ensure that it's spread evenly.
Top with a sheet of phyllo dough and brush with olive oil. Add another sheet of dough and repeat, alternating dough and oil, as with the base, until all of the phyllo is used up.
Brush the top with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown on top.
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