The Weekend Chef: Spanakopita

My husband made two side dishes for our Greek themed Supper Club dinner.  He made a Greek orzo salad and then he made this spanakopita.  I think I've had spanakopita only in small triangle puff pastry form, passed around as an hors d'oeuvres at weddings and such.  We don't go out for Greek all that often and when we do, we've never ordered spanakopita.  Well, I personally loved this dish!  The spinach had such great flavor from the cheeses, onion, and garlic.  My husband said that it was pretty easy to make.  The hardest for him was defrosting the spinach (we used two boxes of frozen) and squeezing all of the excess water out, which took close to ten minutes.  My son loved the phyllo and ate his serving all up! We have left over phyllo dough and I've already put in a request for The Weekend Chef to make this again!

Spanakopita
recipe adapted from allrecipes.com - by SILVERWOLF

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boxes of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and excess water wrung out
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.

2.Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3.In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.
 
Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!