Sometimes when I can’t decide what to make for dinner I read through my recipe index on the blog. I hope you do that too, recipes are fun to read! It helps me remember dishes we really like, because the rule is if a recipe isn’t absolutely delicious it doesn’t make the blog cut. Richard came by to watch the Titans and he was reading over my shoulder so he could weigh in on the important dinner choice. He decided he really wanted Pasticcio (12-7-11) that being settled, he immediately called some hungry friends to come over to the Swor boarding house and saloon. I love Pasticcio and usually just make a really good Greek Salad to go with it; but my guys wanted a whole Greek dinner with appetizers and stuff so I decided to make one of our favorites, Spanakopita.
The first time I had Spanakopita was in Jackson, Mississippi. I am not kidding. A friend’s mother had a recipe from the Jackson Junior League cookbook. This recipe clearly had not made it to the Nashville Junior League cookbook or someone would have given it a try. Not wanting to seem like our Junior League was out of touch, I helped myself to a healthy amount and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was good stuff. I now know it was sort of an interesting Southern version with pie dough replacing traditional Greek Filo dough and cottage cheese standing in for the Feta. Those once exotic ingredients are in almost any grocery store now, and I frequently have everything I need to make Spanakopita sitting right in the fridge.
In college I had several Greek friends who introduced me to their more traditional homemade versions of Spanakopita. At their suggestion I bought a couple of Greek cookbooks at Greek Festivals in Nashville and Memphis. They shared their own versions of Spanaakopita – one even had creamed wheat in it- but my current recipe is a combination of everything I really like about this dish. I do make one substitution that might horrify anyone of Greek heritage - I use walnuts instead of pine nuts. I do this because pine nuts are so darned expensive and walnuts, all chopped up, seem like a fair replacement as far as taste goes. Some people are afraid of working with Filo dough. Don’t be. You just paint it with a little butter and lay it in the pan you’re using. Frozen spinach makes this whole thing just a breeze to put together. Of course you can cut it in little bites and serve it as an appetizer, or cut bigger slices, add a good salad and you’ve got a yummy lunch or light dinner.
The guys absolutely loved it. I’m talking about my vegetable hating husband and Richard’s friend who claims to have never tasted spinach before because it’s green. They renamed it “Greche” because they thought it was sort of a Greek Quiche. What ever you call it, go ahead and whip this recipe up. Everyone will be glad you did!
Ingredients *
1 box of Filo dough, defrosted (frozen bread section of most grocery stores)
1 stick butter, melted
20 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and well drained
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup of walnuts, finely chopped
8 oz cream cheese
7 oz Feta cheese
2 eggs
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp each salt and pepper (taste – Feta can be really salty)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small skillet over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil until translucent.
In a mixing bowl combine spinach, onion, walnuts, cream cheese, Feta cheese, eggs, nutmeg, and salt and pepper.
Mix well – I like clean hands best for this job.
Brush a 9 x 13 baking dish with melted butter.
Brush a sheet of Filo dough with butter and lay in the dish, any edges hanging over the edge of the baking dish.
Repeat with 4 more sheets of Filo.
Spoon spinach filling into the baking dish on top of Filo dough..
Repeat the layers of Filo dough on top of the spinach filling, making five layers, and brush the top with butter.
Fold over any edges into the pan and brush with remaining butter.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until dough is crisp and lightly browned.
Cool 5 minutes before slicing.
*Easy to cut recipe in half
