How to cook Spanakopita

Spanakopita is mostly eaten as a snack in Greece and every Greek restaurant or deli is bound to have a tray of spanakopita ready to go for hungry customers.  Spanakopita is a savory pie made of filo dough and stuffed with chopped spinach, feta , onions or scallions, egg, and various seasonings.

Spanakopita Filling Instructions:

• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup grated edam
• 1/4 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 10-ounce packages ready to use, coarsely chopped spinach
• 1 pound filo pastry sheets

Directions to make fresh Spanakopita:

Preheat oven to 325″ F. Lightly butter 11x7x2-inch baking dish.

Mix first 7 ingredients above in large bowl.

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. Add spinach; saute until wilted and juices evaporate (about 3 minutes.) Transfer spinach to strainer over bottom of prepared dish.

Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle.

Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

There is a “fasting”, or vegan, version of spanakopita eaten during the Great Lent and other religious fasts that doesn’t use eggs or dairy products in the dough mix and uses tofu instead of cheese.

Source: GreekBoston.com