Spanakopita

Well, I've got a new kitchen! I haven't done a post showing it off, but let me tell you...it is stunning. Gorgeous! Lovely! All of the adjectives. And I thought long about what to make in my first bake-off. I considered many options, including a few that have been on my list for a while. But then I went to Epcot, and happened to be there during the Food and Wine Festival. Would you believe they've got a Greek booth? That's right; Food and Wine is complete with gyros and spanakopita! That's like, the best kind of fair food.

I found theirs to be quite good, but I won't lie...I prefer the homemade ones. This dish is second nature to me these days, but it should be so given that I've been making it since I was 6 or so. Don't feel intimidated. I'm about to show just how simple this is.

This isn't a new one for the blog, either. Four score and....well maybe not that long ago, I posted this one. It had become actually inaccurate over time, since I've changed how I do it. So let's try a redo in the brand new kitchen.

Ingredients! Spanakopita is really not so hard, and the only really specialized item you need is phyllo dough. Beyond that, spanakopita requires feta, cottage cheese, butter, egg, spinach, and garlic (this one is not required, but trust me).

In the past, I've used frozen (wilted) spinach or sautéed it on the stove prior to mixing the filling. But more recently, I've taken to tossing the fresh spinach right in there. I have noticed no change in texture or flavor, and it saves me a step. 

So the filling is a combination of crumbled feta, cottage cheese, and egg (you stop there for tiropita), then I mix in spinach and garlic. Even the crumbled feta can have big hunks in it, so you may want to break it up a bit more. Ideally, you've got small crumbles mixed in. 

To make the spanakopita. I first layed out one sheet of phyllo, then brush it lightly with butter.

Note here: The brand of phyllo I purchase (Athena) comes with two rolls. When I was younger, we would buy phyllo that came in one big sheet and have to cut it to size. These don't have to be perfect, but it is roughly 12-14 inches by 8 inches or so, so a large rectangle. Phyllo should not be left out until you are ready to use it. So when I open one roll, I put the other in the fridge. Over the years I've dealt with too many dried out, cracked phyllo sheets to risk it. My advice: when you buy it frozen, thaw it in the fridge overnight and keep it in there until just before you start making the spanakopita. If you have to step away mid-work, cover the dough with plastic or wax paper, then place a lightly damp towel over it.

Next, I folded the top third down (or bottom third up!).

I then folded the other third over the prior to create one long piece and spooned a tablespoon or so of filing onto the end. Some folks like to do another brush of butter here, but I've taken to skipping it. Buttering that first layer is enough.

You get a feel for how much filling you need after making a few of these. Too much and it doesn't quite close, and too little means a lot of dough in every bite.

To begin folding it up, I folded the corner up to create a triangle, covering the filling.

I then folder the triangle over, essentially triangularly wrapping the spinach filling as it rolled down. At the end of the dough, you just fold the end over and place that bad boy on a baking sheet. My mother always lightly brushed the tops with butter as well just before they went in the oven. It's like a pie crust - butter or egg wash go a long way in getting a golden dough.

These can be baked on silicone baking sheet or on parchment paper. I happen to love the silicone baking sheets and actually use it as my placemat for folding (in case you hadn't noticed), too. I baked them for 25 minutes and voila: beauty.

As a kid, we would rush to the kitchen when these came out of the oven.

Pawing at the trays like a pack of hyenas, we'd get napkins and grab one or two little cheesy balls of napalm. With no patience, we'd nibble pieces off as they cooled, savoring the buttery phyllo dough. The room was filled with crunching noises as we bit into the baked dough.

This recipe speaks to me in so many ways. From the buttery phyllo to the flavor of the feta, spanakopita brings back warm memories and reminds me of my appreciation of everything feta touches. The great thing is that this can be altered in many ways. I've taken to adding dill to my tiropita and as noted in my recipe, garlic to my spanakopita. You can also choose your spinach level. I like a fair balance of cheese and spinach, but I've had many versions that are absolutely loaded with spinach. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to eat it. But I'm happy with the version I've wound up with and this one is a tradition.

Spanakopita Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound feta cheese, crumbled (okay to have some variance here; in my last version I used one 12 ounce container)

2 cups fresh spinach
8 ounces cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup butter
1 box phyllo dough

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Mix cottage cheese, eggs, spinach, and crumbled feta in a large bowl., using the spoon to chop the spinach leaves and larger feta chunks as you go. Roll out one package of phyllo dough. On wax paper or other clean flat prep surface, place on sheet of phyllo horizontally. Brush melted butter lightly over it. then scoop on 1 tablespoon of the spinach and feta cheese mixture onto the corner of the folded dough. Fold down corner of dough around the filling to make a triangle shape. Continue folding in diagonal pattern to finish shape. Add to baking sheet. Brush lightly with butter, then place into the oven.  Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

a recipe redo of my very own spanakopita