I made this dish a couple of months ago and my family couldn't get enough of it..
I don’t think this dish needs an introduction. It’s everywhere and it is super popular because it’s simply YUMMY and it’s easier to make than you think. It’s certainly easier than saying it.
This traditional Savoury Greek pastry is a treat for pastry lovers. It has crispy layers of paper-thin fill pastry coated with melted butter and filled with cheese and spinach, It’s certainly NOT VEGAN and if you are watching your calorie intake, well, don’t even think about it… I have made this dish a million times since I first made it in September and I swear I have gained weight just looking at it.
I make it and leave it in the fridge for up to three days. The boys just bung it in the oven and eat it for a snack. For me it’s dinner, with a salad, or should I say it WAS because I haven’t eaten it in three weeks now. It’s torture when I make it now because I just drool.
I have experimented with the filling and it’s hard to get it wrong. Just use whatever cheese you like. We really like the combination of feta and mozzarella. I have made it with, ricotta too and without spinach as well as with spinach. Just experiment and find out what works for you and your family.
I make two batches out of packet of fillo pastry. There are 22 sheets of pastry and I use three sheets before I add the filling. I make two lots of Spanakopita. One I leave in the fridge for the boys to cook and the other one I freeze.
Just make sure both Spanakopitas are covered tightly, otherwise they will dry out.
Ingredients
250g frozen finely chopped spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid
300g fetta, grated
500g mozzarella, grated (I buy a mozzarella ball and grate it my self)
3 eggs
375g fillo pastry
125g butter, melted
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200c.
Cut out a round piece of baking paper, the same size as the dish you are going to use, grease it, and place inside dish.
Mix all of the above ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
Place one sheet of fillo pastry on your work bench and using a basting brush, brush some melted butter evenly all over pastry, repeat with a second one.
Place (about 6-7 tablespoons) of mixture along the bottom of the wide part of the pastry and roll the fillo up gently until you are left with a long log. Now coil the log like a snail shell and place it in the centre of the baking dish, brush with melted butter all over.
Repeat with the remaining fillo pastry but this time use three sheets of pastry before you roll it up. Once you have used half the quantity of the fillo pastry, you can freeze that quantity and make another batch and bake it.
You can make a giant one if you’re entertaining, just use a very large round baking dish. I cook it in my oven for 40-45 minutes until it’s golden brown.
Love,
Nava.
PS - I love hearing from you! Let me know how it went and feel free to spread the word/passion/love, the more the merrier!