Our love affair with Spanakopita Pie
We love Spanakopita Pie! The flavor contrasts, textures, appearance; everything about it is glorious! The first time we made it was quite a few years ago when I was teaching our niece, Mishawn, how to cook some vegetarian dishes. We had a lot of fun going thru the recipe together, garlic flying, knives chopping.
Just what is Spanakopita?
Spanakopita is a Greek spinach and feta pastry full of layers of flavor of fresh herbs and garlic. It is bright, fresh, and sunny. Each bite adds yet another flavor and the texture is a wondrous experience.
Giving credit where it is due!
This recipe comes from http://bonappetit.com, I wasn’t able to find the one I used years ago. I chose it for the 9-inch springform pan, as well as the ease of the steps. However, I did make a change in how the phyllo is done on top.
Overview of Spanakopita recipe
The recipe calls for the phyllo to be folded over the top, making a decorative ring but we wanted it to be with a crust on the top. I decided to use a few extra sheets of phyllo, and just shaped a crust on top. Easy peasey.
Layer on Phyllo sheets to pie 
Almost done layering 
Ready to bake
Take your time with layering your phyllo sheets as they tend to tear easy.
HUGE TIP: make sure your spinach is drained and rung out well of any moisture as this will add too much moisture to your pie if you don’t.
The recipe itself is easy to understand and follow. The results came out very well. The texture, flavor, and appearance is exactly how a Spanakopita should be!
The recipe states to cool for 1 hour before you remove the ring and serve.
Plan ahead a bit, maybe have a snack!
Conclusion
I will be honest, we were so hungry and it smelled so good, finally we waited about 35 minutes and caved. Awful, I know. We definitely give a thumbs up for this recipe.
Try out some of our other recipes such as Roasted Tomato Garlic and Ricotta Tart!
We hope you enjoy!
Drop us a line and say Hi!
Love
The Morgan Sisters
Spanakopita Pie
Ingredients
- 4 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 leek, white and pale green parts only, sliced
- 5 medium scallions, white and pale green parts only, sliced
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 10 oz feta, crumbled (about 2 cups)
- 1 oz finely grated Parmesan (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/3 cup chopped basil
- 1/3 cup chopped dill
- 3 tbsp chopped oregano
- 1 tspn finely grated lemon zest
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter, divided
- 12 14×9 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed, at room temperature
- Special equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
Instructions
- Place spinach in the center of a clean towel, gather corners together, and twist towel to wring excess liquid out of spinach. Try to get as much liquid out of the spinach as you can (if spinach is too wet, phyllo will get soggy as it bakes.)
- Transfer spinach to a large bowl and break into small pieces.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium and cook leek and onion, stirring, until just beginning to soften 5-7 minutes. Add the scallions and garlic and cook until vegetables are tender, 4-6 minutes more.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, scrape into bowl with spinach.
- Whisk egg, egg yolk, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a small bowl. Add to spinach mixture.
- Add feta, Parmesan, basil, dill, oregano, and lemon zest and mix until well distributed. Don’t be afraid to overmix, you want the herbs and cheese in every bite!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly brush bottom and sides of springform pan with butter.
- Remove phyllo from packaging and cover with a towel to prevent drying out. Working quickly, brush butter on one side of 1 sheet of phyllo. Transfer phyllo, butter side up, to prepared pan,covering bottom of pan. Gently press and tuck sides of sheet into bottom edges of pan. Fold and ripple phyllo as needed to cover bottom of the pan. Repeat with 2 more phyllo sheets.
- Working quickly, brush butter on 1 side of another phyllo sheet. Transfer to pan, arranging butter side up and slightly off-center so long side of dough comes up and over side of pan, leaving a 2-inch overhang.
- Rotate pan slightly and repeat with another sheet so overhang covers another section of pan. Continue with remaining 7 sheets, rotating pan so there is an overhang around the entire pan.
- Scrape spinach mixture into pan, pressing down firmly and smoothing the top. Gently fold phyllo overhang over the spinach mixture and continue to press until phyllo goes just below the rim of the pan.
- Don’t worry if phyllo breaks or tears, gather any pieces and arrange where spinach peeks thru. You want the phyllo to look draped over the top with lots of waves and folds.
- Bake pie until phyllo is golden brown and slightly darker around the edges, 50-65 minutes. Let cool in the pan 1 hour before removing ring. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Do Ahead: Spanakopita can be made 1 day ahead. Do not unmold, wrap in plastic wrap and chill. Reheat in a 300 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
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yvonne 
