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This recipe is brought to you by Rachel Pettus from Cyprus
and it is wonderful. Rachel has shared a delicious Greek dish that anyone can make. Rachel
says:
Cypriot cuisine is actually a blend of many styles of
cooking -- dominant are Greek, Turkish, and Arabic. I don't actually cook much Cypriot
food. I leave that to my mother in law. But the following receipe I do make quite a lot.
 A
word about size and pastry. This can be made bite sized (ie a tablespoonful or so of
filling on a square of pastry about 2 1/2" by 2 1/2". Or it can be made loaf
sized by lining a buttered bread tin with pastry so that plenty hangs over the edges,
filling the inside, and bringing the pastry up over the top and sealing it. Whichever size
you do, brush the pie/s with beaten egg, and bake 45 minutes to an hour or so in a
moderate 350 degree oven. You can either use sheets of Greek phyllo dough, separated and
individually buttered ( a pain in the you-know -where, but very good), or use shortcrust
or puff pastry. I usually use a box of frozen puffpastry (375g) since I cannot make pastry
to save my life.
What you need:
- 1 kg (2.2lbs) spinach. I use fresh, but frozen and thawed
would probably work.
- 1 package frozen puff pastry or phyllo pastry
- 250g (1/2lb) Greek feta cheese
- 1/2 stick of butter and some olive oil for frying
- One onion, as much garlic as you like or not
- 2-3 eggs (optional. I don't use eggs)
- 4-5 sprigs fresh dill (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
What you do:
- Combine butter and olive oil in large heavy pan and fry
onion and garlic until soft. Wash and drain spinach and remove thick stalks, then blanch
for a minute or two in boiling water.
- Add blanched spinach to onion and garlic mix and cook for
further 5 minutes or so. Spinach should be deep green colour
and stalks should be tender. Add eggs (I use no eggs, but the traditional receipe calls
for them) and dill. Crumble feta into pan and stir well for a minute or two. Eggs should
be cooked by then. Season with salt and pepper.
- Butter baking pan. If using phyllo, separate sheets, and
brush each sheet individually with melted butter. Use 15-20 sheets, and overlap them,
making sure that sheets hang well over the edge of the pan. If using short-crust or puff
pastry, roll out a sheet big enough to line pan with plenty hanging outside. If making
bite-sized pies cut squares approximately 2 1/12" square.
- Drain spinach mixture by pressing lightly and allowing
liquid to drain into a cup or bowl. The filling should not be too wet or the pastry gets
mushy. It should also not be too dry or the pie is not juicy enough. This buttery, cheesy,
spinachy liquid is lovely, and I am quite capable of drinking it straight, but you can
also use it on mashed potatoes, as a soup base or anywhere else that seems appropriate.
- Put filling into pastry and bring edges up to enclose
filling. (Fill each bite-size square with a spoonfull or so, fold over pastry into a
triangle). Seal by crimping, tucking in, or any means that work. Score the top lightly,
not enough to reach filling, and brush with egg. Bake in moderate oven until pastry is
golden and done. Good hot or cold.
Comments:
Freezing
Spanakopita for later
From: Carolyn
Hi Mary.....I had taken a cooking class for
fun about 2 weeks ago and we made spanakopita and the teacher told us we could assemble
them and brush them with butter and them freeze them in a freezer bag if we like, to use
them at a later time...hope this helps....Carolyn
Creamy Spinach Dip
 This is perfect for any party or Friday night snack. This dip is
great with raw vegetables, crackers, or bread pieces. You can also hollow out a
small round of sourdough or your favorite kind of bread and fill with this dip for your
guests. Save the top of the bread as a delicious covering for your "dip
bowl". |
 
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