Spanakopita Recipe - Greek Spinach Pie
Fresh Ingredients make your Spanakopita Great!
How to Make Spanakopita or Greek Spinach Pie (Recipe)
When I was a child, I had a sandbox. I spent most of my time in that sandbox "cooking" and serving people my creations after it was done.
Because my mother made Spanakopita all the time, so did I. I would serve my muddy spinach pie on chipped plastic plates that never saw the inside of the house.
I'm happy to say that we all only pretended to eat.
Now, I make the real thing. I mostly use spinach, but I have been known to use wild, edible greens such as lamb's quarters with great results. I bet you could use nettle, too.
Note that I included a video at the end of this page. This ISN'T my recipe or my method... I do things differently. The part that I want you to see is the way he works with the filo at the end while putting it all together. It is really hard to describe... you can't of just need to watch it.
Cook Time
What do you think of my spanakopita recipe?
Ingredients for Spanakopita
- 1/2 package filo, (Most filo boxes come with two wrapped rolls. You will use one of these.)
- 1 large bag baby spinach, You can also use two small bags.
- 4 eggs
- 250-300g feta, crumbled
- 3 stalks green onion
- 3-5 tablespoons chopped, fresh herbs such as parsley and dill
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 stick butter
Fresh Feta Cheese - a Spanakopita Must-Have
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt butter in microwave or small saucepan.
- Brush bottom and sides of the 9 x 13 pan with butter using a pastry brush and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add eggs and beat.
- Stir in feta, green onion, fresh herbs, and oregano.
- Toss in spinach using your hands a pair of tongs.
- Watch the video below and follow the instructions for layering the filo with the spinach mixture.
- Save about 6-8 pieces of filo for the top and pour remaining butter over the top. Spread with pastry brush.
- Cut three cuts lengthwise into the pastry.
- Bake on 350 until golden brown. This will take about 45 - 60 minutes.
Greens that Can Replace Spinach in Spanakopita
I thought I would leave you with a list of some plants you can use to replace spinach in this Spinach Pie Recipe. The best, of course, is spinach. My second favorite is lamb's quarters. Here's my list:
- Lamb's Quarters
- Stinging Nettle leaves
- Dandelion greens
- Chicory
- Endive
- Rocket (Arugula, Rucola) - I see this growing wild sometimes.
Dandelion and chicory, unless picked in the spring, is best when mixed with some of the other milder greens like nettle, lamb's quarters, and spinach.
As an aside, in Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal you can find a recipe for Nettle "Spanakopita".
