Greek Spinach Puff Pastry (Spanakopita)

~ I had been meaning to try my hand at phyllo dough, but somehow got lost in the shuffle of my ever-growing list of food projects. It was a Costco-sized bag of spinach; sitting there staring at me accusingly for a full week, that reminded me of one of my most beloved spinach dishes. Lightly flavored spinach, savory with a mixture of cheese, encased in a multi-layered, buttery flaky pastry.

Of Greek origin, spanakopita is traditionally made with feta. However, my aversion to anything goat or sheep related, inspired a replacement; i.e. Parmesan, Romano, and ricotta. When I make something I’ve never tried before, I usually research half a dozen other recipes just to see what the general consensus is. All tend to agree on 2 full cups of cheese. So whatever you use, just make sure it’s flavorful or you’ll need to add more salt. 

Another tip is dough. However many layers of phyllo you choose to use, whether it be 2 or 4- it depends on your preference for more or less dough in your final product. This project was fun and confirmed my initial observation: working with phyllo is a BITCH. It’s tediously delicate and rips with the slightest pressure. That said, don’t worry too much if it does. You’ll be layering upon layer of dough so you can just use a spare piece to cover up a hole or else just use another layer over it. 

Special Equipment:

Colander

Pastry brush

Medium bowl

Small bowl

Kitchen shears

Baking sheet

Silpat or parchment paper

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb baby spinach- roughly chopped

2 tbsp kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg

2 cloves garlic- finely minced

½ medium onion- finely minced

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup ricotta

4 large eggs

3 tbsp grated Romano

3 tbsp toasted seasoned breadcrumbs

1 ¼ stick of unsalted sweet butter- melted

16oz pkg of phyllo sheet dough- defrosted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Using a large pan or wok, set on low heat. Melt 1/8 of butter and coat surface evenly.
3. Add onion and garlic. Cook until translucent.
4. Add spinach to pan and sautee for about 5min. Season with salt and a few grates of fresh ground pepper.
5. Place cooked spinach in colander. Use spatula to spinach push against colander to squeeze out excess liquid.
6. In the bowl, add spinach, all cheeses, nutmeg, and bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly.
7. Melt butter and pour into a small bowl.
8. Clear off a large work surface and clean thoroughly.
9. Use a clean pair of kitchen shears to cut down entire stack of phyllo sheets lengthwise.
10. Carefully place one sheet of phyllo dough flat on work surface. Dot and brush lightly with butter. Set a second phyllo sheet on top of it. Dot and brush lightly with butter again. If it doesn’t seem sturdy enough yet, place third sheet and brush with butter.
11. Place about 2-3 tbsp of spinach filling towards one corner. Fold in across in triangle and then straight and so forth in triangles until you reach the end.
12. Press against all sides of pastry to make sure it is sealed. Repeat until all phyllo dough is used.
13. Place each completed pastry onto silpat (or parchment paper) lined baking sheet.
14. Bake for approximately 20min or until golden.
15. Cool for 2min and serve.