Spanakopita

This recipe is often used in my family for extended family dinners, holidays, and any time I need to contribute to a cover-dish meal. If you haven’t ever used phyllo, do not be intimidated by it.

Ingredients
1 large onion
1 sleeve/tube of thawed phyllo sheets
5 eggs
24 oz of feta cheese (I use store brand or Athenos. For some reason the few times I’ve used expensive feta the taste is disappointing)
30-32 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed with water pressed out
olive oil

After spinach has thawed, put in a colander, put a plate on top of the spinach, and place a large bowl filled with water on the plate to press any water and fluid out of the spinach. I allow 1-2 hours for this.

Assembly (allow about 15 minutes)

Chop onion and cook in olive oil.

In a large bowl combine drained spinach, onion, feta, and five eggs. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Unroll phyllo dough (do not put on counter where a ceiling fan or ac/heating vent will blow on it-the sheets will dry out quickly).

Place 2-3 sheets in dish, drizzle or brush with olive oil. Repeat until 1/3 of sheets are in dish. Don’t worry if the sheets tear.

Put 1/2 of spinach mixture on phyllo, distributing evenly.

Repeat phyllo and then spinach.

Put last 1/3 of phyllo sheets on top of spinach.

Using a very sharp knife, cut diagonally through all layers in diamond shapes. Drizzle olive oil across top.

Bake
Bake in a 350 oven 1-1 1/4 hour until golden brown and spinach mixture looks firm (cover with foil towards end of cooking time if the top is golden but requires a little more time).

Remove from over and run knife through previous cuts to make it easier to serve. Serve warm.

If you have any leftover, store in a tightly covered container. It will reheat in the oven at 350, or can be microwaved at a low power until warm (my experience is that the phyllo does better at less than high power).

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