This lovely egg and spinach pie is reminiscent of Greek Spanakopita–but since it’s just one big pie it’s a bit easier to make.
This was what Princess made for the family the very first time she cooked dinner all by herself! Hey-if an 11 year old can make this, you know you can too.
Princess’s Greek Spinach Pie (Spanakopita)
Ingredients
- 1 Onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 2 10 oz pkg Frozen Spinach
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 2 oz Crumbled Feta
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Dill dried
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 8 sheets frozen Phyllo
- Oil
- Butter melted
Instructions
-
Defrost your phyllo in the fridge for several hours, thaw and drain well spinach, and soften cream cheese on your counter
-
Preheat oven to 375.
-
Chop onion and pepper, mince garlic.
-
In a medium saucepan, sautee onion, pepper & garlic until soft.
-
Remove from heat and add spinach, cream cheese, Feta, dill, salt and pepper.
-
Lightly beat eggs and then add into the now slightly cooled spinach mixture.
-
Open phyllo and cover the stack with a sheet of wax paper and a damp towel while working. (Dry phyllo will crack and fall apart)
-
Cut your stack of 8 sheets into 12 inch squares.
-
Layer 4 of the squares into your pie plate-brushing with melted butter in between each layer. The phyllo will hang over the side of the pie plate.
-
Spread spinach mixture on top of the phyllo.
-
Fold any of the phyllo that is hanging outside the pie plate over the filling-then take the final 4 sheet and set them on top of the pie, brushing again with butter between each layer.
-
Tuck any overhanging phyllo gently down into the sides of the pie.
-
Bake for 35-45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes then cut & serve.
Variations:
-
Use any other fresh, frozen or canned green for the spinach keeping in mind that 10 oz = 6 cups of fresh leaves, 1 1/4 cups cooked, 2/3 cup cooked & squeezed dry.
-
Substitute Gorgonzola or Cheddar for the Feta cheese (will be a completely different taste).
-
Use a standard pie crust (single or double) instead of phyllo dough.
Can’t wait to try this recipe Jenn! Though I recently discovered I have allergic reactions to wheat/gluten – I did find a Gluten Free phyllo dough recipe for other folks like me who want to make this! http://www.glutenfreeda.com/cooking_class-aug03.asp
Sounds great and more Greek than mine. Mine is more Italian as I add browned and crumbled Hot Italian sausage, and use 1 deep dish and 1 shallow frozen piecrust. I bake the deepdish one about 5 min. and then line it with thin sliced deli ham, because my recipe calls for 6 eggs also I add about 8 oz of shredded mozzerella and a little dill. If you’d like to try my version, the hardest part is to turn the shallow piecrust over on the top of the other one. Let it thaw completely, and loosen edges dampen the edges of both, and turm it over onto your hand and ease it over and sealit well
The Italian additions sound good–there are so many things you could change up or add in to this recipe, which is nice!~
This was sooooo good! I never thought to make Spanakopita because I always thought it was too complex, but this recipe was right up my alley. I just had to blog about it, but I linked back to you because you and your daughter deserve all of the credit! Thanks again! Cheers!