Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, a nice, green, traditional Greek dish. Yes, we are mixing our metaphors, but this dish is universally delicious.
In writing the recipe for this spanakopita, I really tried to pare it down to its essential ingredients so that it will come together quickly and very simply. The basics are layered into a baking dish, family style, and baked off in about half an hour’s time.
When we made these in the afternoon last week, we had a funny little class of just my kids and one other student, Miss A, who was the only mini-chef neither in bed with a bug nor off on a tropical vacay.
As the Brits are apt to say (and perhaps the Irish?): Right then! More for us!
Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)
For the spinach layer:
*2 lbs of spinach, washed well
*1 t. coarse salt
*3 small cloves of garlic, minced
*1 medium red onion, finely chopped (substitute shallots, leeks, white onion, or scallions)
*1 T. olive oil
*salt and pepper, to taste
Together: Fill a large pot with cool water. Have your mini-chef toss in the coarse salt.
Big Person: Bring the water to a boil over a high flame. Working in 2 batches, place the spinach in a colander and lower the colander into the boiling water for 8-10 seconds. Pull out the colander and drain over the sink. Let the first batch drain and cool completely. (Here you are free to cook the spinach a little longer and shock it in an ice bath, but I find that this is a nice step to skip in a crowded kitchen and that cooking the spinach less works well.) Once the first batch of spinach has cooled, repeat with the second batch of the spinach.
Squeeze all the extra water out of the spinach. You can try doing this with your Yummy.
Big Person will then chop the spinach pretty finely to prepare it for sauteing.
Heat the oil over a medium-low flame. Add the onion and cook till translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, a minute more. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the spinach, some salt and pepper to taste, and saute for another 3 minutes or so, till all the flavors come together. Remove to cool in a medium bowl.
For the Feta Layer:
*1 lb. feta cheese, room temperature
*1/2 lb. ricotta cheese, room temperature
*1/2- 3/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg
*black or white pepper, to taste
Together: Mix all of the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Break up the big chunks of feta with the back of your spoon till you reach the desired consistency. We prefer a little bit of texture, but some people prefer it completely smooth.
To Assemble:
*1 package phyllo dough
*4 T. butter
*1/4 c. olive oil
Big Person: Melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the olive oil and our into another (cool) bowl.
Together: Show your mini-chef that you are going to paint with the butter-oil mixture with a pastry brush.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
First paint a 9×13 inch baking dish with the mixture. Then, beginning with 2 sheets of phyllo, lightly paint both sides of the sheets. Press them into the dish, one on top of the other. Do not worry if your sheets tear. No biggie! Just piece them back together and move on with assembly. Next, spoon half of the spinach mixture into the dish and spread it out all over the phyllo layer. Paint 2 more sheets of phyllo with the butter mixture and layer them over the spinach. Spoon 1/2 of the feta mixture on top of this phyllo layer and spread it out everywhere. Repeat this process using up the second half of each mixture and finishing with a layer of two phyllo sheets to top the spanakopita. Brush with a final bit of the butter mixture.
For easier cutting later, you can score the top into serving pieces with a serrated knife. We prefer to skip this step and add one last crinkled layer of buttered phyllo on top for the beauty it gives the presentation of the dish after it’s baked.
Big Person: Bake the spanakopita in the oven for about 30 minutes or until you see the top layer of phyllo turn golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
