If you haven’t tried Spanakopita before, you’re in for a treat! Spanakopita is a delicious savory Greek pie made of perfectly crispy layers of phyllo dough and a comforting filling of spinach and feta cheese. I’m sharing my mom’s epic spanakopita recipe below:
INGREDIENTS:
- 16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
- 1 stalk of leeks, finely chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- virgin olive oil
- 4 eggs
- 10.5 oz quality feta cheese, crumbled
- Freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 package of phyllo dough sheets
PREPARATION:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Before you begin mixing the filling, be sure the frozen spinach is very well drained, and squeeze out any excess liquid by hand.
- To make the filling: In a mixing bowl, add the spinach, chopped onion, chopped leeks and stir until all are well-combined.
- In a frying pan, sauté the onion, spinach and leeks until onions are clear.
- Once this mixture is cooked, add it to a bowl along with the feta and eggs and mix all together.
- Prepare a 9 ½” X 13″ baking dish by brushing the bottom and sides of the dish with olive oil.
- To assemble the spanakopita: Line the baking dish with two sheets of phyllo letting them cover the sides of the dish. Brush with olive oil. Add two more sheets in the same manner, and brush them with olive oil.
- Now, evenly spread the spinach and feta filling over the phyllo crust. Top with two more sheets, and brush with olive oil.
- Continue to layer the phyllo sheets, two-at-a-time, brushing with olive oil, until you have used up all the sheets. Brush the very top layer with olive oil and an egg yolk bath.
- Fold the flaps or excess from the sides, you can crumble them a little. Brush the folded sides well with olive oil.
- Bake in the 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until the phyllo crust is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven. Finish cutting into squares and serve. Enjoy!
