Spanakopita (Spinach Pie) for Two

I love Greek food and one of my favorite Greek dishes is Spanakopita, spinach pie. The pie is made using Feta cheese (another favorite) and spinach layered between sheets of Phyllo dough. Velvety on the inside, crunchy on the outside – it’s a perfect dish.

Typically (and true of many dishes I make), I make enough spinach pie for an army although it’s just two of us at home. For Easter, I committed to only making enough spinach pie for two and I was almost successful! This is probably enough for four as a side, but a generous portion for two as an entrée. I made this in a loaf pan and it worked great.

There are tons of variations of this dish, but when I learned to make it as a teen, my teacher put layers of Phyllo between layers of filling, like what one would do for a lasagna. Some prefer to only top the pie with Phyllo…. there is no ‘right’ way…do what you like!  

I use fresh spinach but frozen and thawed works well too.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves finely minced
• 2 pounds fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 2 tsp. dried dill
• ¼ tsp. each salt and pepper
• 5 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled (I use Dodoni brand)
• Half a 16-ounce package of phyllo dough, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9” x 5” loaf pan.
2. In a large sauté pan or skillet over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and the finely chopped onion and cook for 3 minutes or until the onion is lightly browned.
3. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Place the cooked onion/garlic in a medium bowl and set aside to cool.
4. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil to the pan and once warmed, add the spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes until it’s fully wilted and starting to color. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Squeeze as much moisture from the cooked spinach as possible using cheesecloth or paper towels.
5. In the bowl with the cooled onion/garlic mixture, add the egg, parsley, dill, salt, pepper and Feta cheese. Stir to combine then add in the cooled spinach and stir to fully incorporate.
6. Unroll the phyllo dough, take out two sheets and wrap the remaining sheets in a slightly damp kitchen towel to avoid brittle, dry dough.
7. Place one phyllo sheet into the buttered pan, lengthwise, and brush melted butter over it then place a second sheet on top of the first and butter again. Sheets will have overhang and that’s fine for now.
8. Add 1/3 of the spinach filling on top of the two phyllo sheets.
9. Add one phyllo over the spinach, butter and top with a second sheet and butter.
10. Add 1/3 of the spinach filling on top of the two phyllo sheets.
11. Add one phyllo over the spinach, butter and top with a second sheet and butter.
12. Add 1/3 of the spinach filling on top of the two phyllo sheets.
13. Top the dish with four more phyllo sheets, buttering between each sheet.
14. Using scissors, cut the overhang but leave about an inch of phyllo that gets folded over the top of the dish. Brush the top phyllo with butter.
15. Using a sharp knife, cut the phyllo across the short end of the pan to create two pieces of the same size (see photo). It’s easier to precut the top phyllo prior to baking.
16. Place the pan on a cookie sheet (in case of spills) and bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crispy.

Yields two large entrée size portions or 4 side dish sized portions.