|
A friend of mine, Ellen Muntz, taught me how to make this traditional Greek spinach pie. The key to this recipe is the feta cheese--Lots of feta makes it exceptionally good. I always use frozen spinach because it's so convenient but you can substitute fresh. Three sixteen-ounce bags of frozen chopped spinach, or three pounds fresh spinach that has been washed, stemmed and chopped.
Three tablespoons olive oil
One large onion, finely diced
Two tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil
Two eggs, beaten
One teaspoon dry dill weed
Two cups crumbled feta
One-half cup (one stick) butter, as needed
One-half of a sixteen-ounce package phyllo
Dash salt (optional) and pepper
For fresh spinach: Blanch 20 seconds in boiling water. Drain, then squeeze out excess moisture and loosely chop. For frozen spinach: place in colander and allow to drain while thawing; squeeze out excess moisture. In pan heat one to two tablespoons butter or olive oil; add diced onion and cook until soft. Remove from heat and add spinach, two to three tablespoons olive oil, dill weed, salt and pepper; blend well. Mix in beaten eggs and crumbled feta. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut phyllo in half. Using soft or melted butter, brush or spread butter on individual layers of phyllo. Place bottom layer in greased 9-X 13-inch pan. Spread spinach mixture onto phyllo, then repeat with at least four more layers. Top the pie with two buttered layers of phyllo. Place in middle rack of oven and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to stand 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice into squares or triangle shapes. Serve warm.
Yield: Eight to nine small servings
| 
