Spinach and feta cheese are a match made in heaven – Spinach pie (made with both) is a versatile dish that can be enjoyed year round.  It can also be a main dish or an appetizer or a snack in different forms.  I made the spinach pie during the Holiday season for a fantastic lunch with friends.  I made the triangles with the remaining filling, froze them, and served them at a pot luck luncheon a few months ago.  The pie is a bit easier to make – at least less labor – and serves up beautifully.  The triangles are a little more work – but they are a really nice item to have in your freezer ready to bake for a quick appetizer, snack or meal.  Both are equally delicious, healthy and make a beautiful presentation.

fresh mint in the garden in Ohio! we had a very mild winter…

feta cheese crumbled on top of the spinach with fresh herbs

The recipe is one that does not require exact measurements…my favorite kind.  You can also use different herbs and cheeses to change the flavor to your liking – or to what you have on hand.  I have adapted a few different recipes to suit my tastes but please know the quantities can vary easily.  The egg in the filling will bind all of the ingredients together – but not be quiche like.  The spinach is the star here and even if it crumbles a little bit – the flavor of the herbs and cheese combined with the spinach make it delicious.  Please be sure to squeeze out as much excess water as you can.  I typically do a handful at a time and squeeze out different handfuls more than once.  Sometimes if you place a large amount of spinach into a kitchen fowl, wrap it up by twisting the towel, you can get more water out as you twist harder and squeeze!

Phyllo dough can be intimidating to use.  I have learned that it really does help to keep a damp cloth on top of the unrolled stack of phyllo sheets.  I have also learned that if one of the sheets breaks, you can still use it by putting it back together while assembling.  Even if it is not even – or the complete sheet is not used for a layer, the butter will help it stick together and form as you produce the pie crust – or the triangles.

first few layers of phyllo in the pie pan with butter brushed on and a sprinkling of bread crumbs

filling added before top sheets are placed onto the pie.

finished pie before baking with top covered and sides folded into the center.

For the pie, you just need to lay a sheet at a time into a greased pie pan.  Brush each sheet with a little melted butter.  Allow the excess to hang over the edge.  You will eventually fold the extra onto the middle of the filled pie and place additional phyllo in the middle to make a top crust.  Once you have about 5 sheets in the base, place the finished filling into the pan.  I like to fold remaining phyllo sheets in half, brush them with butter and place them in the center of the pie pan.  You need just two or three sheets for the top.  Then, fold over the overhung sheets and brush with plenty of butter.  It does not have to look beautiful.  When it bakes the top will brown and the edges will curl up to form a beautifully scalloped top.  At this point you can freeze the pie to bake for another time or just bake it.

For the triangles, the process requires more effort and time.  Open up the sleeve of phyllo dough and cover with a damp cloth.  Melt butter in a small pan – or dish.  Begin by setting one sheet of phyllo dough onto the countertop – or cutting board.  Brush with butter.  Sprinkle very lightly with bread crumbs (this step is not mandatory).  Top with another sheet of phyllo and brush with butter. Do the same with a third sheet of phyllo dough.  You can make the triangles any size, but I prefer to divide the stack of sheets into three sections lengthwise.  Place about 1 TBS of filling on the bottom of each strip.  Begin by folding the dough over the filling into a triangle shape.  Try to spread the filling evenly into the triangle.  Then continue to fold over the triangle shape until you use the entire strip of dough.  Brush the finished triangle with additional butter.  Place finished triangles onto a sheet of parchment paper or freezer paper.  Bake directly on the parchment or freeze them uncovered on the sheet until they are firm.  They can then be placed into a zip lock freezer bag or freezer safe container.  I like to use additional parchment or waxed paper between layers to help them not stick to each other.  These are best baked directly from the freezer – do not try to thaw before baking or they will be soggy.

Begin with one sheeet of dough – and brush with butter.

forming process for the triangles…

finished triangles ready to bake or freeze

baked up triangles.

Spinach Pie – two ways

Quantities below will make one 8" pie and about a dozen medium size phyllo triangles

Preparation time is about an hour for triangles and 30 minutes for the pie

Baking time is 30-40 minutes for triangles and one hour for the pie.

Ingredients

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3-4 tablespoons good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
6 extra-large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound good feta, crumbled

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or mint (or 1 Tbs. dried) – optional

1 lb phyllo dough sheets

1/2 lb melted butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs

 

Instructions

In a medium saute pan on medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.

Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. Put the spinach into a bowl and then gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese and feta.  Add mint or dill as desired.

Handling the Phyllo:

Open package of phyllo and unroll.  Try to keep the sheets covered with a damp towel as you work with them.  They dry out quickly.

For the pie:

Butter an ovenproof,  8-inch pie pan and line it with 6 stacked sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter and a light dusting of bread crumbs, letting the edges hang over the pan. Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the phyllo and neatly fold the edges up and over the top.  Place an additional sheet or two on top of the pie, tucking in the edges to fit inside the pie pan. Brush the top well with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

For the triangles:

Place one sheet of phyllo onto work surface (cutting mat or board).  Brush the sheet with butter and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs (less than 1 tsp per layer).  Cut the sheets into 3 strips lengthwise.  Place 1-2 Tbs of filling in the center of the first strip about 1 inch from the bottom.  Fold a corner across the filling and then continue to fold as if you were folding a flag until you are finished folding.  Tuck any uneven ends into the triangle and brush with butter.  Try not to fold too tight as the filling will expand when baking.

Place the triangle onto a buttered baking sheet or parchment paper.  Continue until you have the desired number of triangles.  Filled, unbaked triangles can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.  Fresh triangles should be baked in upper third of oven at 350′ for abaout 25 minutes until golden brown and filling is hot.  Serve hot or at room temp.   They can also be frozen on unbuttered baking sheet or parchment paper and wrapped tightly in freezer bags.  When baking frozen triangles do not defrost them first – they will get soggy.  Just brush frozen traingles with butter and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until well browned and hot.  Serve immediately.

Notes

Recipes are modified from two sources:  The Silver Palate Cookbook (Rosso & Lukins c. 1979) and Ina Garten, Food Network, Barefoot Contessa.

The beauty of spinach pie is that exact quantities are not critical.  More cheese can be added, different spices.  The most important trick is to squeeze excess water from the spinach – you don’t want a soupy mixture.  Bread crumbs can be added to soak up moisture if your mixture is too wet.