Spanakopita
Recipe video above. Spanakopita - the iconic traditional Greek Spinach Pie with layers upon layers of golden buttery flaky filo pastry. For the best Spanakopita of your life, use raw rather than cooked spinach, and layer the phyllo pastry with finely shredded Greek cheese so it sticks together rather than flying everywhere when you cut it!This pie is a perfect thickness with a good ratio of Spinach Feta filling to pastry. It will serve 4 to 5 people as a main dish.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan). Line a tray with baking paper / parchment paper
Sweat spinach: Place spinach in a large colander or bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss through. Leave for 10 minutes to sweat
Wring out water: Place a handful of spinach in a tea towel, then wring out tightly to remove excess water
Filling: Place spinach in a bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix well to combine
Trim filo: Cut 16 sheets of filo pastry into 32 x 25cm / 13 x 10" (pictured) or 26cm / 10.5" square
8 base layers: Layer 8 sheets of filo pastry on the tray, brushing each layer with melted butter
Filling: Spread filling on filo pastry. Smooth surface and leave a 2.5cm / 1" border
8 Filo topping layers (Note 4): Cover spinach with a sheet of filo pastry. Brush with butter, sprinkle with Kefalotyri. Repeat for Sheets #2 to #5. Then cover with filo sheets #6 to #8, brushing with butter in between, but do NOT sprinkle with cheese (neater finish)
Seal: Press edges down to seal. Crimp and trim if desired (see process steps in post or video) or just leave the edges flat on the tray
Sesame seeds: Brush the top with butter, sprinkle with sesame seeds
Bake: Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface
Serve! Serve immediately! It is at its absolute prime fresh out of the oven, though still good as long as its hot (~15 min or so). The base does lose crispiness as it cools
Nutrition
- Calories
- 672cal
- Carbohydrate Content
- 48g
- Protein Content
- 24g
- Fat Content
- 43g
- Saturated Fat Content
- 26g
- Cholesterol Content
- 153mg
- Sodium Content
- 1826mg
- Fiber Content
- 4g
- Sugar Content
- 4g
