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a cut piece of pita
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Spanakopita

This recipe is a bit lighter than the traditional American version of Spanakopita.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Servings: 8
Calories: 345kcal
Author: A. JoAnn

Equipment

  • pastry brush

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. box frozen phyllo dough you will use 1/2, thawed
  • 8 tbsp butter
  • 10 oz. baby spinach or mixed power greens see note above
  • 1 Tbs. dried dill or 1 bunch fresh, chopped dill
  • ¼ c. chopped scallions optional
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 5 eggs
  • 8 oz. feta cheese
  • 2 tbsp Grated parmesan or romano cheese to sprinkle on top
  • ¼ tsp pepper

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, mix together the greens, dill and scallions. Add some salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil lightly over mixture. Set aside.
  • In a second, smaller bowl, crumble the feta cheese. Beat in the 5 eggs until well mixed. Set aside.
    eggs are beaten in bowl with crumbled feta cheese
  • Melt the butter until about half of it is completely liquid. Use your pastry brush to to spread some butter in a rectangular 9 x 13 in. pan.
    butter is melted partially, about half of it still retains the stick form
  • Unroll the phyllo dough so that it is flat on the counter. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and then a damp dish towel on top of the plastic wrap (don’t get the dough wet).
    The wet towel weighs down the plastic wrap to keep the dough fresh. When you develop some skill with the dough, you won’t need this covering step.
    phyllo dough is unrolled on kitchen counter, then covered with a layer of plastic wrap and a wet dish towel
  • Taking 3 dough sheets at a time, lay the dough in the pan and then use the pastry brush to brush and/or drizzle the butter over the layers. Continue doing this, 2-3 sheets at a time, until you have used about 1/2 of the thawed dough.
  • Now, mix the egg/cheese mixture into the spinach mixture until the greens are well-coated. Then, pour the contents of the bowl over the dough in the pan.
    baby spinach mixed into eggs and cheese
  • Continue to layer and butter 2-3 sheets of the remaining half of the phyllo dough over the filling, until you have used all of the dough.
    spinach mixture is spread over bottom half of phyllo dough layers
  • Pour any remaining melted butter over the top of the pie. Then, lightly sprinkle the top with grated cheese.
    pita is covered with remaining butter and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese
  • Bake at 350°F for 40-60 minutes, until top is golden.
    top of pita is golden brown
  • Remove and let cool a bit before cutting and serving.
    a cut piece of pita