Spanakopita

My boyfriend and I were trying to come up with something to make for dinner on Sunday. I wanted something vegetable-y so he suggested spanakopita. Am I concerned that he considers a phyllo pasty(!) layered with butter(!!) and stuffed with a cheese(!!!)/spinach mix healthy? Yes, yes I am. But I agreed. Because spanakopita is awesome.

We decided to make ours into a log shape because we are lazy and we thought the spinach-to-pastry ratio might make it healthier. We continued with the being lazy trend and used frozen spinach.

It was super-delicious. And other than the butter-layering monotony that is phyllo, it really wasn't that much work. There are some things to consider. Keep your butter warm while working because as it cools, it thickens, so our phyllo was (dare I say it) a little too buttery. Also, my boyfriend sucked at layering phyllo. He acknowledged it and chalked it up to "girl-skills"; so if you believe in the natural-born ability of women to make a flawless bed, wrap gifts beautifully, and make a perfect sandwich, then be aware that this particular phenomenon applies also to phyllo-layering.

We took the recipe from Epicurious but messed with it a bit. We added extra spinach, the juice of half a lemon, and an egg. I highly recommend these adaptations. As well, it was a bit salty. So based on a tip I saw online, next time I think I will substitute 1/3 or 1/2 the feta with cottage cheese. The end result was still great. It was spinachy and moist, and the lemon really brightened it up. Plus, the leftovers were fantastic.

Spanakoptia
Adapted from Epicurious.com

1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lb baby spinach (or 10 oz frozen)
1/2 lb feta, crumbled (scant 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
10 (17- by 12-inch) phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook spinach, stirring, until wilted and tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool, about 10 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in feta, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (and lemon, egg, and cottage cheese, if desired).

Preheat oven to 375°F. 

Melt remaining 1 stick butter in a small saucepan, then cool. 

Cover phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel. 

Take 1 phyllo sheet from stack and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with another phyllo sheet and brush with more butter. 

For Triangles: Cut buttered phyllo stack crosswise into 6 (roughly 12- by 2 3/4-inch) strips.

Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near 1 corner of a strip on end nearest you, then fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Put triangle, seam side down, on a large baking sheet and brush top with butter. Make more triangles in same manner, using all of phyllo. 

For log: Cut buttered phyllo stack in half. Arrange filling lengthwise and wrap phyllo around, pressing in at ends.

Bake in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.