Spanakopita

I wanted to try my hand at using phyllo in a recipe, which I hadn't done before.  Boxes of phyllo are available in the freezer section of grocery stores, not unlike sheets of pastry, with which I also have been experimenting lately. 

I decided to make spanakopita, or spinach pie, which is a traditional Mediterranean dish of layers of phyllo with a spinach and feta filling.  It's not an uncommon dish and I've eaten it several times, but never cooked it myself.  As with most foods I cook, I didn't use a recipe, and instead winged it with what I thought would be good.  Luckliy it turned out great and I'll definitely make it again. 

The only difficult part of this recipe is actually handling the phyllo.  It's very delicate and must be handled gently.  At the same time, it's important to move quickly as even with a damp towel for the phyllo to rest under, it can still dry out.  So, dealing with the phyllo is a mix of needing to go fast and also needing to go slow.  One way to handle this is to make sure everything else is ready before getting out the phyllo at the very last possible second.

I served these as a main dish with stuffed grape leaves and toasted ciabatta bread on the side.  It made for a great Mediterranean-themed vegetarian dinner.

Lairdriin's Spinach Pie
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained extremely well
6 oz feta, crumbled
2 Tbsp plain yogurt
2 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 tsp each: oregano, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper
8 sheets of phyllo, thawed
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg beaten with 2 Tbsp water
1/4 c chopped pine nuts

In a bowl, mix together spinach, cheeses, yogurt, and seasonings.  Divide the mixture into four equal portions

Ready phyllo sheets by placing them on a sheet tray covered with a barely damp towel.  On a large clean flat surface, brush the top of one sheet of phyllo with a little bit of melted butter and fold the sheet in half along the long edge so that the butter is inside the fold, and also brush the top of the halved phyllo with butter, and set it aside.  Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets, making stacks of 2 folded sheets each, so that each stack has four layers. 

Place a phyllo stack on a flat surface with a long edge towards you.  Spread a porton of the spinach mixture on the phyllo in a rectangle about 1 inch from the nearest edge and 3 inches from the other three edges.  Fold the edge nearest you about an inch over the filling and the sides 3 inches in towards the center.  Roll the phyllo away from you to make a rectangle a little like a burrito.  Move it to an oiled baking sheet with the seam side down.  Repeat with the other phyllo stacks to make a total of 4 pies.

Brush the top of the pies with a little more butter and bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes.  Remove baking sheet from oven and brush top of pies with a little egg wash.  Sprinkle on the pine nuts.  Return to oven for another 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.  Serve immediately.