Mmmmm….Spanikopita. I know, it’s not the most traditional of Thanksgiving dishes. Heck, my family isn’t Greek either. However, everybody loves these, and they’re kinda fun to make. My son helps with the division of labor. Here’s the recipe we use . If I’m not too lazy, I may even post a follow up with more detail:
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- 4 – 10 oz boxes of frozen chopped spinach – thawed
- 12 oz feta cheese (pre-crumbled is fine, block is easy to crumble, too)
- 2 Tbsp dried oregano
- To Taste – Onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1 – 16 oz package of fillo dough SHEETS (Thawed at least overnight in the refrigerator.)
- 1/2 lb butter (Two quarter lb sticks), melted
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
FILLING:
Drain the spinach, and squeeze out any excess water until it is dry. In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, feta cheese, oregano and spices, and mix well. The feta should be crumbled until the largest chunks are no more than pea sized. Mix in the eggs.
ASSEMBLY:
This is the trickiest part of making the spanikopita. Fillo dough dries quickly, so it should be kept covered while working. The best way to do this is to sandwich the fillo dough between two layers of plastic wrap, then cover it with a damp paper towel. Only one sheet will be worked with at any given time, so this facilitates easy removal of just the top sheet in the stack. Also, since the 16 oz package of fillo is typically packaged in two smaller packages of aprox. 20 sheets, it is easiest to assemble in two batches.
Cover two cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
Lay the first sheet of filo dough lengthwise in your work area. Brush a coating of butter on the left 2/3rds of the sheet. Next fold the right hand 1/3rd towards the middle, then the left 1/3rd over that. This will ensure that all touching surfaces will be separated by butter.
(try to add a diagram……)
At this point the shape of the dough should be a long, narrow strip. Brush the side that is facing up with butter. Place a spoonful of filling at the end of the strip facing you, then fold up the filling into the dough in the same manner as folding a paper football.
(another diagram…..)
Place the spanikopita onto the cookie sheet, and brush the top of it with butter. Repeat the process with each remaining sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
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. Fun challenges! And of course- that’s what I SHOULD be doing, rather than blogging.