Tuesday

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


Spanakopita on Foodista

11 comments:

Simply Life said...

oh that looks delicious!

skr said...

Mmm, that looks fantastic. I've never made my own, going to have to give it a shot!

Unknown said...

You have a really nice blog here....and I spend way too much time reading food blogs and food magazines while I should be looking for work too....LOL!!

Have a great day!

Abby said...

Oh my gosh that looks amazing! The overhead shot of the dough before it was rolled is my favorite; the lighting is awesome.

FuzzyChef said...

Spanikopita burritos. What's not to like?

Contrary to your experience, my wife cannot do pastry at all, especially not phyllo. Anything involving phyllo, pie crust, or yufka, especially, has to get done by me. She just tears the phyllo or crumples it up.

Alisa said...

Now that makes it so much easier :) I love spanakopita too...I should make one soon.I'd love to guide our readers to your site if you won't mind.Just add your choice of foodista widget to the end of this post and it's all set, Thanks!

Cautionary Tale said...

As a Greek person who has been making spankopita for over 20 years, I'd suggest that you soak your feta in water over night to get rid of the saltiness.

Simply place the block of feta in cold water and let it sit. Every once in a while rinse it and change the water. It will really get rid of most of the saltiness of the cheese!

Also, I got tons of other additions, like sauteeing green onions, leeks, and dill and adding it to your dish just to add m ore flavor.

P.S. I've never heard of it being made with frozen spinach, but I think I'll try it since using fresh spinach is such a pain!!

Excellent blog, excellent work! Keep it up.
=)

Bitter Endive said...

Thanks for the tips & kind words! I'll be sure to try that with the feta.

Cherine said...

I love spanakopita!! Urs look great!

NikiTheo said...

District 10 is right, rinse your fest to get the briney-ness off it!

Ironically, I just posted a spanakotiropita (the technially correct name for spinach cheese pie)
http://nikisbakingspot.blogspot.com/2010/05/spanakotiropita-spinach-cheese-pie.html#comments

It's a recipe my grandmother and mother have been using forever. Not salty at all (we are not big on salt in our fam) and lots of good flavor.
I'm really proud of this recipe, it makes non spinach lovers, love spinach :)

Emily said...

This looks lovely! Is that a side-by-side comparison of yours and the boyf's pastry rolling skills?

I tend to use ricotta as well as feta (not strictly traditional - gasp!) and I throw some pinenuts in there too, because everything tastes better with pinenuts.

What Emily Ate
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