YiaYia Approved Spanakopita
I decided to make this recipe on a whim when I realized I had a couple hours to spare. It was take a nap, or get my butt up and get a few ingredients from the store to make the Spanakopita. I am ashamed to say that the nap came in as a very close second. I fetched the three ingredients I didn’t have and came home to take on the challenge. You’d be surprised of what measures you take in order to use up the large amount of food that is about to expire. In my case, it was feta cheese that I convinced myself I needed a couple of months after being married. Did I mention I purchased this number at Costco? We all know where this is going. Let me give you some advice…If you are a family of two, unless you’re planning on cooking for a Greek army in the next few months, do not purchase the tub of crumbled feta cheese.
Regardless, I ended up making a Lebanese feta salad (see one of my first posts) and Spanakopita. Add some wine and you have a deliciously ethnic meal. This dish is fun, sort of easy, and positively delicious!
Ingredients
2 large bags or 3 bunches spinach
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 bunch scallions (green onions) finely chopped
6oz crumbled feta cheese
5oz part skim ricotta cheese
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 egg
12 sheets filo dough
2 tbs melted butter
Steps
1. In a pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and steam the spinach for 4-5 minutes
2. Drain spinach and squeeze out any excess water
3. In a deep pan, combine onions, scallions, and extra virgin olive oil and cook on medium heat until onions are translucent
4. Add spinach and remaining ingredients to the pan and take off the heat after stirring enough to completely mix ingredients together
5. Bring out filo dough from freezer and CAREFULLY place on a flat surface (filo dough is extremely fragile and can tear very easily)
6. Slit a few lines into the filo dough creating 3 slices of filo dough
7. Be sure to use 3 layers of dough for each spanakopita
8. Use a kitchen brush to spread a small amount of melted butter over the dough
10. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes