Spanakopita

Spanakopita - Spinach Pie
Preparation: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Spanakopita is a Greek classic. It can't get more Greek than Spanakopita!
Now this recipe is originally from Makedonia, a province North of Greece renowned from its great pitas (pie in Greek)!

                                                                                    Ingredients:

1 pack of philo dough (you can also use shortcrust)
250g melted butter
1 kg of spinach (washed and if not baby leaf, remove the stems)
2 tablespoons of fresh dill
1 tablespoon of Oregano
250g of low salt Feta cheese
1 onion
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 egg yolk (optional)
4 tablespoons of milk (optional)


Start by frying the chopped onions with the olive oil in a large saucepan. Once the onions are nice and golden, add the washed spinach. Cover with the lid for about 3-4 minutes and stir occasionally. You will see the spinach reduce in volume. Add the herbs, salt and pepper and continue cooking until the spinach leaves are nice and tender. Once the spinach is cooked, remove from the heat and crumble the feta cheese into the spinach.

In a large baking tray, (I use a pyrex) place 1 sheet of philo dough at a time and  coat every sheet with the melted butter. When you have stacked about 12-15 sheets at the bottom of the tray cover with the spinach mixture. I always use a skimmer to remove the excess liquid. Continue covering the spinach mixtures with the philo dough as we did for the bottom bit.

When you've finished covering the top part of the pie, you can glaze the top layer with a mixture of 1 beaten egg yolk in 4 tablespoons of milk/water.

Cook in a preheated oven at 180c/350F for about 20-25 minutes until the philo is cooked and the top layer is nice and golden.

Spanakopita can be enjoyed as an entrée, as a sidedish or even as a main. It is also great served lukewarm for breakfast!

Kali oreksi!!!!