greek pie

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.

Spanakopita

300 grams/10 ounces English spinach leaves

tsp salt

Greek feta (, crumbled)

Greek yoghurt

green onions / scallions (, finely sliced)

tbsp mint (, finely chopped)

tbsp dill (, finely chopped)

lemon

lemon juice

garlic (, finely chopped)

tsp nutmeg (, freshly grated)

tsp black pepper

cayenne pepper

filo pastry ((Note 2))

120 grams/ 8 tbsp butter (, melted)

/ 2/3 cup Greek Kefalotyri cheese (, finely grated (sub parmesan, Note 3))

tsp white sesame seeds ((or more black))

tsp black sesame seeds ((or more white))

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.

Filling:

Trim filo: Cut 16 sheets of filo pastry into 32 x 25cm / 13 x 10&quot; (pictured) or 26cm / 10.5&quot; 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&quot; 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.

Assembly:

Traditionally, this dish is referred to as&nbsp;Spanakopita, but since I can't even begin to pronounce that word I will tell you that it's&nbsp;basically just a mix of a lot of spinach, some eggs, herbs, and a generous amount of feta cheese. Very similar to that of a frittata, but it's the phyllo dough crust that takes this pie to another (better) level.

Greek Spinach and Feta Pie (Spanakopita)

spinach,

eggs

extra virgin olive oil

feta cheese, crumbled

parmesan cheese

fresh basil, chopped

fresh dill, chopped

fresh oregano, chopped

garlic,

red pepper flakes

kosher salt and black pepper

phyllo dough, thawed

(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

raw sesame seeds ((optional))

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, eggs, olive oil, feta, parmesan, basil, dill, oregano, lemon zest, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.&nbsp;3.&nbsp;Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on the prepared baking sheet and brush the phyllo with melted butter.&nbsp;Repeat, layering 2 more times, placing&nbsp;the sheets of dough over top each other. Now brush another sheet of dough with butter and place&nbsp;perpendicular to the bottom layer, creating&nbsp;an X.&nbsp;Repeat this layer 2 more times. Brush another sheet of dough with butter and place slightly&nbsp;off center of the x.&nbsp;Repeat this layer 2 more times.&nbsp;Simplistically, you are using 9 sheets of phyllo dough, 3 layers, in 3 different directions, kind of like a star.4. Take the spinach filling and spoon it onto the center of your phyllo dough star, leaving about 2 inches of edge space. Bring the edges of the dough up and over the spinach.5. Brush the remaining 3 sheet&nbsp;of phyllo dough with butter and layer over top of the spinach, crinkling them slightly&nbsp;to fit. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the dough.&nbsp;6. Transfer to the oven and bake for&nbsp;45-50 minutes,&nbsp;until phyllo is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.&nbsp;

This traditional Greek spinach and feta cheese pie gets a healthier makeover - we've slashed the fat, salt and calories

Lighter spanakopita

fresh spinach

tbsp rapeseed oil

shallot

spring onions

garlic

nutmeg

ricotta

dill

tbsp snipped chives

mint

filo pastry (each

feta

minted yogurt dip (see tip), to serve (optional)

cucumber & pepper salad (see tip), to serve (optional)

Pack the spinach into a large heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over and press the spinach down with a wooden spoon. Leave for 1 min to wilt, stirring a couple of times so all the leaves are submerged. Tip into a large colander and place under running cold water to cool quickly. Drain well – squeeze out any excess water by pressing the spinach down with the wooden spoon, then squeezing with your hands. Using kitchen paper, pat the spinach dry into a compact shape, lay it on a board and roughly chop, then set aside.

Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the shallot, spring onions and garlic, and fry over a high-ish heat for 3-4 mins, stirring often, until softened and just starting to brown. Lower the heat, tip in the spinach and stir for 1 min only to finish drying. Season with pepper and a good pinch of nutmeg, and leave to cool.

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and put a baking sheet in to heat up. In a bowl, stir the ricotta into the beaten egg and mix in the 2 tbsp dill, the chives and mint. Season with pepper and a pinch of salt.

Lightly oil a 20cm square x 4cm deep cake tin. Mix the remaining oil with the 1 rounded tsp dill. Lay the filo pastry sheets on a large board. Brush the top one with a little of the dill oil, then carefully lower it into the tin to line the base and 2 of the sides, with an overhang on both sides. The pastry doesn’t have to fit in smoothly – a few wrinkles and folds in it are fine. Brush a bit more oil over the second pastry sheet and this time lay it down in the tin the other way round, so it drapes over and lines the base and the other 2 sides. The tin should now be completely covered, with a pastry overhang all round. Repeat the criss-cross layering with 2 more oiled filo sheets.

Stir the ricotta mixture into the spinach, then crumble in the feta. Lightly stir it in so you leave a few chunky pieces. Spoon this filling into the lined tin and level it. Bring the pastry sides up and over the filling, then brush a little oil over them. Brush the remainder of the oil over the last filo sheet on the board. Cut the sheet in half widthways and lay one half over at a time, in big folds, to cover the filling and give you a pastry topping.

Place the tin on the heated baking sheet and bake for 25-30 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden. Leave to cool for 10-15 mins. Remove the tin and transfer to a serving plate. If your tin doesn’t have a loose bottom, carefully upturn it onto a flat board, then flip it over onto the serving plate. Serve warm or cold with minted yogurt dip and a tomato, cucumber & pepper salad (see below), if you like.

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The most viewed greek pie recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine