Spanakopita is an all year round great Greek dish. Spanakopita means spinach pie and the dish is included in every Greek restaurant menu as well as in every Greek family dinner table at least once a week. To make spanakopita from scratch means that you will have to make the filling as well as the crust or in other words the phyllo. To make both the spanakopita filling as well as the phyllo you will need to different sets of ingredients. First, lets list the ingredients for the phyllo and then for the spanakopita filling. To make the phyllo you will need: ? kg of flour, ? a cup of oil, 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of vinegar and some sesame seeds. To make the filling you will need 1kg of spinach, 2 whole leeks, 4 fresh onions, 1 bunch of dill, 3 eggs, 250gr of feta, salt, pepper and 1 cup of oil. Lets first start with the spanakopita filling. To make the spanakopita filling we first have to clean the spinach and the leek. Wash both the spinach and the leek well and chop them into not so fine pieces. Then chop up the dill and the onions. Make sure you chop the onions in fine pieces so they get caramelized properly. In order to make the spanakopita you ought to follow the next step of the process which is to place the olive oil in a pot. Let the oil heat up and saut? the onions, the leek, the dill, and the spinach. Add salt and pepper to your liking, taste the mixture if necessary. After the salt is added, the onions are caramelized and the spinach has wilted lower the temperature and leave the spanakopita ingredients for a few minutes to dry up. Don't add any water at this point. It is important to let everything sit and dry up for a bit. Then take the pot off the stove and after it has cooled off add some crumbled feta as well as the beaten eggs. At this point the filling for the spanakopita is pretty much prepared. Remember that you don't necessarily have to make the filling first. You can manage your time and process accordingly. Aside from the filling, you will have to also make the phyllo. The process to make the phyllo is the same for every kind of pita. In order to make the phyllo for the spanakopita you ought to follow the following process. To do so you will need to use a bowl. Empty the flour in a bowl and in the middle of the bowl we create a little hole in which you add the salt, the oil, the vinegar, and slowly add the water. Knead well and make the dough in to a single ball. Let the spanakopita phyllo dough ball sit for about half an hour. Make sure you cover the dough with a cloth to protect it. After you let the dough sit, separate it into four parts. Take each part, each smaller ball and open them up flat out. Take one of the opened phyllo layers and place them in an oiled up pan, on the bottom of the pan. It is imperative to make sure that every phyllo piece matches the size of the pan you will use to bake your spanakopita. Also make sure that every single phyllo layer is not thick. You might end up with more than four phyllo pieces depending on how thick they are. That is fine. The more pieces you get the crunchier your pita will be. Take a small cooking brush and proceed to oil up the phyllo layer you just placed on the pan. Then place a second phyllo piece over the first one. You might have more phyllo pieces at this point, save them for the top. Make sure you oil up every single piece of phyllo you plce on the pan. This way the phyllo for your spanakopita wont stick. After you place a couple of solid phyllo pieces on the bottom of the pan then spread the filling evenly on top. Proceed by covering the filling with more phyllo pieces. Remember to oil them up individually. On the final one you can spread some sesame seeds if you like. Place your Greek spanakopita in a preheated oven for about an hour.
Greek Spinach Pie Recipe
1 (10 oz.) bag fresh spinach
1 (24 oz.) carton ricotta cheesse
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9-inch deep pie plate.
Rinse off spinach, dry and tear into bite sized pieces.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and bell pepper; mix thoroughly. Spread mixture into the pie dish (make it a little thinner in the middle).
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center is set and the edges are nicely browned.
=> Spinach Pie Recipe: Savory 3-Cheese Spinach Pie Rolls
Spinach and phyllo were made for each other. The various flavors of cheese in this recipe meld together perfectly to create a delicious eating experience.
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (12 oz.) container small curd cottage cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 sheets frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a medium sized baking sheet.
Squeeze thawed spinach dry.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, egg and onion; mix well. Spread half of the spinach mixture onto each phyllo pastry sheet.
Roll the pastry sheets up and pinch the ends to tightly seal. Arrange on the baking sheet. Make a few slits on top of each phyllo roll. Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown.
=> Spinach Pie Recipe: Spinach Pie with Bacon
Bacon lovers will have another favorite dish after they taste this delicious spinach pie. This recipe features fresh spinach, crisp bacon, cheese and spices.
6 slices bacon
3 cups spinach, rinsed and chopped
3 eggs
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups scalded milk
9-inch unbaked pastry crust
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until brown and slightly crisp; drain onto paper towels. Crumble bacon and sprinkle onto the bottom of the pie crust. Add spinach on top.
In a bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, salt, onion powder, minced onion, garlic and pepper. Slowly add in the scalded milk. Pour mixture over spinach. Top with Monterey Jack cheese.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
=> Spinach Pie Recipe: Spinach Pie with Italian Sausage
For a little something special, try this spinach pie that features fresh Italian sausage and ricotta cheese.
In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until brown; drain.
Separate one egg and set the yolk aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the egg white and the remaining eggs. Add in the spinach, mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, garlic powder, pepper and sausage; mix well.
Line a 10-inch pie plate with one pastry crust. Pour the spinach filling into pie crust. Place remaining pie crust on top and seal edges. Cut slits on top of crust to vent.
In a small bowl, combine the reserved egg yolk with the water. Brush over top crust.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until crust is a nice golden brown. Let pie stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Both Constantine Jameson & Brandy Summers are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Constantine Jameson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Photography, Mortgage and Life Insurance Annuity. Eat healthy learn a few . Greed food is healthy and easy to prepare in most cases. Learn how to make. Constantine Jameson's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.
Brandy Summers has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food and Drink, Cooking Tips and Recipes. Mmmm . . . where can you find that yummy recipe?Milkshakes, Smoothies, Brownies, Chili, Casseroles and more!. Brandy Summers's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.