Spanakopita

One of my absolute favorite Greek dishes has always been spanakopita. It's flaky, buttery layers and flavorful spinach and feta cheese filling make my mouth water! I've eaten spanakopita at pretty much every Greek restaurant I've ever been to (that and saganaki, incredible flaming cheese), so after considering myself somewhat of a connoisseur, I decided to bite the bullet and try to make it myself. It can't be that hard, can it?


The answer to that question is absolutely not! This was probably one of the easiest meals I've made in a long time and it was delectable! All of the best parts of spanakopita made with my own two hands! To say I was proud of myself is an understatement. I adapted this recipe from Iron Chef Cat Cora's recipe (find it here).


Spanakopita

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 C cooked rice (I used leftover rice from Zoe's Kitchen)
10 oz fresh spinach
1 scallion, diced (green and white parts)
1 Tsp dill
1 Tsp parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 C crumbled feta cheese
1/2 C parmesan cheese, grated
1 package frozen Philo dough
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350.


In a deep skillet, sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. This took roughly 5 minutes. Add the cooked rice to the skillet to reheat.


Slowly add bunches of spinach to wilt. It should take about 3 minutes per bunch to wilt, since you have 10 oz of spinach in need of wilting, it'll take a little bit of time but be patient! You will be rewarded for your patience!


After all the spinach is wilted and mixed with the rice and onion, add in the scallion and seasonings. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the feta and parmesan cheeses.


Now, I easily could've eaten the filling as is because it was honestly that delicious but why would I want to deny myself the flaky goodness of a crust?


Grease a  9 X 13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (or delicious melted butter), and begin to layer your Philo dough. My bottom layer was about 5-6 sheets thick. Be careful to not break the dough as it is extremely fragile.  Once you have a more-or-less solid bottom layer, spoon about half of the filling onto it and smooth. Top the filling with another 5 or so sheets of Philo dough and brush with the melted butter. Repeat the steps with the remainder of the filling and Philo sheets, topping the sheets with more melted butter.


Bake the spanakopita for 30 minutes or until browned and crispy.

One thing I may change the next time I make this recipe is to add 5 oz more spinach because I just really love spinach and maybe adding a little bit more feta cheese as well. The feta in the filling adds a beautiful tangy flavor that really brightens up the dish.


This spanakopita was so delicious! I couldn't believe I made it myself! I also couldn't believe how extremely simple it was to make. The whole process only took about 45 minutes. I served this delicious meal with a Greek salad (also from Zoe's Kitchen) and a nice buttery Chardonnay. I highly recommend giving it a try, readers!