Being married to a man of Greek ancestry, I am fortunate to experience Greek cooking. My mother-in-law shared this traditional recipe with me. The ingredients are simple and the end result is delicious. To learn how to grow spinach, the main ingredient, read my blog post how to grow spinach in your home garden.
Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)
This is a favorite family recipe that has been passed down to me from my husband's Greek family. It is delicious!
- 30 ounces Fresh Spinach
- 8 Eggs
- 2 lbs Feta Cheese
- 12 tbsp Butter
- 1 1-lb Package of phyllo dough ((I use Athens, Phyllo Pastry Sheets, 2 Count Phyllo Dough, 16 oz (Frozen), 40 sheets 9” by 14”))
You will need a pan that is approximately 14 1/2" x 9 1/2" x 1" high
Bring phyllo dough to room temperature prior to use (about 2 hours)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Clean and dry spinach (dry as much of the water as possible, if you leave too much water, the pita could be soggy). Set aside.
In a large bowl (I use my biggest aluminum bowl) crack the 8 eggs and then whisk (beat) together by hand.
Crumble the feta cheese into the egg mixture and gently mix together.
Add the spinach to the feta & cheese mixture. I find it easiest to use my hands. You want to thoroughly mix all three ingredients together. Set aside.
Melt 8 ounces of butter.
Prepare your pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom of the pan with butter.
Open and unroll one sleeve (20 sheets) of the phyllo dough. You must keep the phyllo dough moist or it will become difficult to work with. Cover unrolled thawed phyllo with plastic wrap, then a slightly damp paper towel. Keep phyllo covered until needed. Uncover to remove sheets as needed, and then promptly recover.
Place two sheets of phyllo on each side of the pan and brush with butter. Repeat this process with all the sheets from the first sleeve. You will have 10 layers of phyllo dough.
Pour the spinach/egg/cheese mixture on top of the phyllo. Even out across the full dimension of the pan.
Open the second sleeve of phyllo dough and repeat the same process as in 10 and 11 above. You will need to melt the second stick of butter at some point, use your judgement.
Place the completed pita in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Take out of oven and let cool for ~30 minutes.
To prevent the bottom of the pita from becoming soggy, cut the pita into 4 large pieces. Take each piece out of the pan, place on tinfoil and wrap the tinfoil around the sides but don’t seal up. Place in the refrigerator after cooled.
The pita can be eaten cold or it can be reheated in the oven. For reheating, cut as many 3-inch square pieces as you plan to eat, place on a pan and then place in a 350-degree oven for ~15 minutes. It is delicious reheated this way.
Enjoy!
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