Best Lighter Spanakopita Recipes

EASY GREEK SPINACH PIE FOR BEGINNERS (SPANAKOPITA)

Easy Greek Spinach pie for Beginners (Spanakopita) image

It doesn't matter if you haven't made a pie before. This amazing easy Greek spinach pie recipe (spanakopita) is made in only one hour from scratch!

Provided by Eli K. Giannopoulos

Categories Sides

Time 1h

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

2 small red onions, halved and sliced
1 spring onion, finely chopped (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
500g spinach, washed and roughly chopped (18 ounces)
a pinch of grated nutmeg
200g feta cheese, crumbled (7 ounces)
2 eggs, beaten
1-2 tbsps fresh dill, chopped (optional)
1 pack of filo pastry (400g / 14 oz typically) or if you can find some Horiatiko phyllo from your local Greek Deli.
butter
salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

If you choose to prepare this Greek spinach pie recipe with commercial phyllo dough, it is important to thaw completely the phyllo dough by putting it in the fridge from the previous day. For the beginners at working with phyllo, check the handling tips before start making the spanakopita.
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
To prepare this spinach pie recipe, sauté the onions in a large knob of butter until soft and turning golden. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted. Cool, then tip into a bowl (leaving behind any excess liquid from the spinach) and mix in the nutmeg, feta, eggs, spring onion and season. This will be the filling of the spanakopita.
For this spinach pie recipe you will need a non stick baking pan, about 20-22cm. Put the first sheet of filo in the pan and brush with butter, letting the excess hang over the sides. Keep going with the rest of the sheets, turning a little before adding each additional pastry sheet and brushing all over with butter. When all the pastry is used up, tip in the filling of the spanakopita and fold over the excess pastry to cover. If you like to prepare a larger pan of spanakopita for a big crowd, double the ingredients for the filling and use a 25*35 cm baking dish. Layer the 4-5 phyllo sheets to form the bottom of the spanakopita, tip in the filling and top with 4-5 more phyllo sheets.
Butter the top of the spinach pie with melted butter and scar with a sharp knife. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes until the filo is crisp and golden.
Leave the spanakopita cool down for 10-15 minutes before cutting into pieces. Serve the spinach pie with Greek feta salad. Enjoy!

SPANAKOPITA

Spanakopita image

Spanakopita is among the best-known Greek dishes in the States, though the leaden, soggy versions you often encounter here are wildly different from the cheese and spinach pies served in Greece. The key to making a light spanakopita is to use a relatively small amount of strongly flavored fillings, butter every layer of phyllo-which helps the pastry stay flaky, light, and crisp-and start with good feta. As always, when working with phyllo dough (page 629), make sure you keep the pieces that you are not working with covered with a damp towel; see Baklava (page 628) for more details.

Yield makes 6 or more servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch of scallions or spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
Two 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained, or 1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, large stems removed
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons sultanas (golden raisins) or raisins, optional
2 cups feta cheese
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or a bit more to taste
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
10 to 12 phyllo sheets

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the scallions a minute later. Cook until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes, then add the spinach. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is completely wilted, less than 5 minutes. Turn the mixture out into a bowl and let it cool, then stir in the pine nuts and sultanas if you're using them.
Beat together the feta and eggs in a separate bowl. Season the mixture with the nutmeg and some black pepper, then taste and adjust the seasoning.
Brush the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with butter. Lay 6 or 7 phyllo sheets in the pan, brushing each sheet with melted butter; the edges of the sheets should hang over the rim of the pan.
Spread half of the cheese mixture over the phyllo and top it with half of the sautéed spinach and scallions. Lay another 4 sheets of phyllo on top of the spinach, buttering each sheet, then top the phyllo with the remaining cheese and spinach. Fold in the edges to enclose the pie, sealing with melted butter and additional buttered phyllo if necessary.
Score the top of the pie into squares or triangles and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.