σπανακοτυρόπιτα (Greek Spanakotiropita)
I’m publishing this recipe in honor of some good friends, thanks to whom I traveled to Greece for the first time for their wedding. Sofía is Greek and Carlos is Spanish, and they decided to get married in Volos, a coastal town about 300 km from Athens. The wedding was an unforgettable experience in every way, from the incredible landscapes and local traditions to the wonderful people and the varied, delicious cuisine.
I didn’t actually try spanakotiropita on that trip—in fact, I didn’t even know it until Carlos sent me the recipe—so for now it’s my second attempt at Greek cuisine. Moussaka is another one I have in mind and hope to make soon. The result? Spectacular. Apparently, it’s very common as a street food snack or appetizer.
My 12 points go to Greece!
Ingredients for 4 people
1 pack of filo pastry
about 600 g spinach (washed)
1 pack of feta cheese (200 g)
1 or 2 eggs (1 if large)
2 spring onions
1 handful of pine nuts
olive oil (I used extra virgin)
salt, pepper, and dill
Preparation
Sauté the spring onions in a pan with a little oil until softened.
Add the spinach and cook until it reduces in volume. Season with pepper and dill to taste.
Remove from the heat and drain off any excess liquid using a colander, pressing the mixture well.
Mix the spinach and spring onions with the feta cheese cut into small cubes and the pine nuts. Once combined, adjust the salt (feta is already quite salty, so add salt at the end if needed), then add the egg and mix again.
Grease a baking dish with butter and lay down one sheet of filo pastry. Using a brush, spread oil over the sheet. Place another sheet on top and brush with oil again.
Repeat until you have 5–6 layers.
Place the filling in the center.
Repeat the layering process with another 5–6 sheets on top, covering the filling.
Brush the top layer with beaten egg so it turns golden and shiny.
If you like, make a few cuts in the “package” to make slicing easier after baking.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC for 5 minutes and bake for about 40 minutes at 200ºC until the pie is golden.
Notes
The thickness is just a guideline. In this case it turned out quite thin, but it can be made thicker by increasing the amount of spinach filling.