A reader on the Lunch Tray’s Facebook page recently asked for the recipe for my Greek spinach pie and while it’s not typically “kid-friendly,” whatever that means, at least one of my kids gobbles down this dark-green-leaf-filled entree quite happily. So I thought I’d share it with everyone as one of my “TLT’s Table” recipes, all of which you can find using the “Recipes” tab above.
This recipe originally came from The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt but I’ve tweaked it a bit here and there over the years. It’s tasty and impressive-looking for company, and while it’s probably too much work for a busy weeknight, it makes a great weekend dinner or luncheon dish.
And for those of you afraid of working with phyllo, don’t be! I’ve found that the Fillo Factory brand is much easier to handle than most and doesn’t dry out quickly. It’s nice, too, that the company offers both organic white and organic whole wheat varieties of phyllo dough. (And no, I’m not getting a commission from these people, I swear!)
OK, here’s the recipe, along with my cooking notes below.
TLT’s Greek(ish) Spinach Pie
You’ll need:
- 3 10 oz packages of chopped, frozen spinach, thawed*
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- olive oil
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 cup cottage cheese (low-fat or regular)
- fresh dill**
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley***
- 16 sheets of thawed phyllo dough, Fillo Factory brand preferred.****
- one stick butter, melted, or olive oil or cooking spray*****
- pastry brush
- rectangular casserole dish
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Sautee the diced onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until softened and translucent. Remove from heat and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Squeeze the thawed, chopped spinach until no more water can be squeezed out. I do this by putting it in batches in a fine-mesh sieve or strainer and pushing hard against the sides with a paper towel. You could also roll the spinach in a clean dishtowel and gently wring it.
- Add the dried spinach to the bowl with the onion along with the beaten eggs, feta, cottage cheese, herbs and ground pepper. Mix well. I usually find that the filling is salty enough from the feta and cottage cheese, and no extra salt is needed. But to test for flavor without eating raw egg, just microwave a bit of the filling on a saucer for a few seconds until set, then taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- On your workspace, lay out your melted butter (or oil or cooking spray), phyllo dough, pastry brush and casserole dish. Coat the bottom of the dish with a bit of the melted butter. Brush the top sheet of phyllo all over with butter (just a light coating is all you need), then lay it in the dish. Do this seven more times, until you have eight sheets in the dish. Don’t worry about rips or tears. No one will clearly see any layer except the very top one! 🙂
- Spoon the topping over the filling and spread it out evenly. Now lay eight more sheets of phyllo over the topping, buttering each one before you lay it down. Pat gently, then score the top few layers of phyllo with a sharp knife in a diagonal grid pattern, to create 3″ diamonds. If there’s lots of phyllo hanging over the edges of the dish, trim it off with kitchen shears or a knife.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until browned and crisp. (Be sure to check often as oven temperatures vary and phyllo can brown quickly.) Let the pie stand for a few minutes before serving. Delicious warm or at room temperature.
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Cooking Notes:
* Once I didn’t have enough spinach so I used a mixture of spinach and arugula and it was great! I’m thinking other greens like Swiss chard would also work well.
** The original recipe calls for 1 TBS dried dill, but I much prefer to use fresh dill and lots of it – maybe a good four tablespoons, well chopped.
*** You could skip the parsley if you don’t have any on hand. I’m not sure anyone would notice.
**** Most boxes of phyllo come with two rolls of dough, and one roll is more than enough here so don’t thaw out the second one. For some very good phyllo handling tips, visit the Fillo Factory site and click on “Fillo Recipes.”
***** You do need some fat between the layers of phyllo but, if you’re averse to using a stick of butter, you can use olive or another oil. The Fillo Factory people say you can even use cooking spray, which I’ve never tried.
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