Spanakopita is a savory spinach and cheese filling sandwiched between layers of buttery, flaky filo dough that is baked until golden brown. Spanakopita, along with Pastichio and Grape Leaves (Dolmades) are dishes that always remind me of going to my grandparents house for the holidays.
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My most memorable memory was going over there every single year for Christmas Eve when aunts, uncles, cousins, 2nd cousins and great great grandparents would gather.
Chunks of feta cheese, an array of Greek olives, bread with Taramosalata (fish roe mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and bread) and Tiropitakia (also known as cheese triangles) covered the table. As we all grazed and hoped that we would still have room for dinner, we would catch up with family that we haven’t seen since the previous year. Even Santa would make a stop and hand out presents and praise the cook, my Yia-Yia!
Spanakopita is quite simple to make, however the process of handling the phyllo dough can be quite overwhelming and frustrating. I have included a video in this post showing you the step by step process of the buttering and layering the filo dough. Please know that this is my first video (I absolutely needed to forewarn you) and I was nervous.
LIST OF SPANAKOPITA INGREDIENTS
DAIRY: Feta cheese, butter, cottage cheese and eggs
Onions
Spinach
Dill weed
Phyllo dough (frozen section)
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Salt/Pepper
WAYS TO THAW OUT PHYLLO DOUGH:
- TO THAW (THE NIGHT BEFORE) AND STORE IN THE REFRIGERATOR
- Remove the 2 rolled up, sealed packages from the box and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Remove phyllo dough from refrigerator and bring to room temperature prior to use. (2 hours or so)
- TO THAW THE DAY OF
- Remove the 2 rolled up, sealed packages from the box and place on the counter for 3-4 hours.
SPANAKOPITA SPINACH AND ONION MIXTURE
First, grate the onion. The recipe calls for 2 onions but I swear the onions that they have at the grocery store nowadays are on steroids, therefore I just ended up using one. Next, take the thawed spinach and try to remove as much excess liquid as you can. Although spinach has a lot of water, I found that by pressing down on the spinach with a spoon (you can even use a potato masher)will release a lot of the liquid right off the bat. Then, I put the spinach on a dish towel and squeeze the remaining liquid out. It’s a great stress reliever when you start twisting and squeezing the towel!
Time to introduce the spinach to the onions, shall we?
Phew…so happy they got along! So, now that they are really getting to know each other, and starting to cool down we can start our cheese mixture.
CHEESE MIXTURE
Start by grating the feta cheese. The feta cheese will most likely start to crumble and that is perfectly fine. Next, put the grated feta in a large bowl and add the cottage cheese and eggs mixing well. Lastly, you will add the cooled spinach mixture to the cheese mixture.
Now that the Spanakopita filling is done, it’s time to introduce yourself to the phyllo dough. So this is the, “sometimes overwhelming and frustrating” part. Please be kind to yourself. Nobody will ever noticed that some of your phyllo sheets ripped or that they aren’t true to size in your casserole dish. In addition to the phyllo dough being rather thin it can also be a bit forgiving.
PREPARING THE PHYLLO DOUGH
Start by unrolling the thawed phyllo dough. Once the phyllo dough is unrolled take the time to separate each sheet because when you start layering for the Spanakopita you don’t want to be struggling with separating the sheets. For this reason try your best to move as quickly as possible because the phyllo dough will dry out and crack. In addition, have the butter melted and ready to go, along with a pastry brush. You will see in my video that I have the plastic wrap that it came in resting on top with a damp tea towel. Do not put the damp tea towel directly on the dough as it will make it mushy.
LAYERING THE PHYLLO DOUGH
Following is the setup. Take some melted butter and brush the bottom of the casserole dish. Next, remove a sheet of phyllo dough and butter repeating this step 2 more times. Drape the 4th phyllo sheet on the longer side of the dish making sure to butter what’s in and out of the dish repeating on the opposite side with the 5th phyllo sheet. Continue this step for the shorter sides of the dish. As a result of this technique, you will then be enclosing the spinach and cheese filling for the Spanakopita.
Guess what? You are going to add 4 more phyllo sheets, making sure to butter each one. Finally it’s time to add the spinach and cheese filling, spreading evenly across the phyllo dough. Again, layer 3 more phyllo sheets, buttering each one as you go. Now you will fold over the phyllo sheets that are draped over the side of the dish. Please fold over one side and then the opposite side finishing with the other two sides. Lastly, add 3 more phyllo sheets, buttering each one.
Once you have done all the layering, take a sharp knife and cut through the phyllo dough. You should have 24 squares. I do 4 long cuts lengthwise and 6 shorter cuts to make 24 squares.
TIME TO BAKE OR FREEZE THE SPANAKOPITA
At this point, if you don’t want to make this right away you can freeze it. You will need to put a layer of Saran Wrap over the spanakopita and then cover tight with foil. You can absolutely put this in the oven frozen…REMOVE PLASTIC WRAP before putting it in the oven. I ALWAYS attach a sticky note to the foil so I don’t forget. Because guess what?, I have forgotten more than once!
Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Take tinfoil off and bake for another 45 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown color. You can serve this warm or at room temperature. I hope you enjoy this nostalgic recipe from my kitchen to yours.~Christina
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Yia YIA’S Spinach Pie (Spanakopita)
10
servings30
minutes1
hour30
minutesSpanakopita is a savory spinach and cheese filling sandwiched in between layers of buttery, flaky filo dough bake until golden brown. Perfect as a side dish to any main course or even as an appetizer for any occasion.
Ingredients
1 lb. filo dough, thawed
1/2 lb. of butter, melted
1/3 cup EVOO
2 onions, grated
2, 10 ounce packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of any excess water
2 tsp dried dill
Salt and pepper to taste
- FILLING
1/2 lb. Feta cheese, grated
1 lb. Cottage cheese (small curd)
2 eggs beaten
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the EVOO, grated onion, thawed spinach, salt, pepper, and dill.
- Cook for about 5 minutes. Just enough time to get the spinach soft and the raw taste from the onions out. Set aside and let cool slightly. *SEE NOTE
- In a large bowl, add the grated feta cheese, cottage cheese and beaten eggs. Mix until the ingredients are incorporated. Then add the spinach mixture. Mix until well combined. Set aside.
- Meanwhile unwrap your phyllo dough and lay a damp cloth over the phyllo sheets. This prevents them from drying out.
- Take a 9×13 casserole dish or a roasting pan and brush some melted butter on the bottom.
- Now, take a phyllo sheet and place it on the bottom of the buttered pan and brush with butter. Be gentle as you don’t want to tear the dough.
- Do the above step 2 more times, making sure you butter each sheet.
- Drape your 4th phyllo sheet over one side of the pan and butter the phyllo (even what’s hanging overboard otherwise it will dry out quickly). You should have more phyllo hanging overboard.
- Do the opposite side and finish with the other 2 sides. The shorter 2 sides of the pan will have more phyllo on the inside of the pan.
- Add 4 more sheets of phyllo like you did in steps 7 and 8. Don’t forget to butter each sheet.
- Drop your spinach mixture on top of the phyllo sheets. Gently spread evenly.
- Add 3 more phyllo sheets, buttering each one as you go.
- Now, fold over your draped phyllo dough over the spinach mixture continuing with opposite sides, buttering each one.
- Lastly, add 3 more sheets, buttering each one.
- Take a very sharp knife and cut just through the phyllo dough making squares. You should have 24 squares.
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 45 minutes or until the top gets a beautiful brown color to it.
- Serve warm or room temperature.
Recipe Video
Notes
- You don’t want to add the spinach mixture to the cheese and egg mixture when it’s still hot. The eggs could curdle.
- You can make this ahead of time and freeze it. Good news is is that you can put it in the oven frozen but your cooking times will vary. Oven temperatures will stay the same. Or just thaw it and follow the cooking directions above.
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