Menu Notes:
- The name, the dish, the recipe are all Greek and adapted with very few changes from one of my oldest and most favorite recipe books, now almost a loose-leaf pile of pages:
The Ingredients (for 12 to 18 servings):
- 225 g (or ½ lb) of fillo pastry sheets
- 2 bunches (170 g, or 6 oz) of scallions
- 1.1 kg (or 2½ lb) of fresh spinach
- 1 bunch of fresh parsley, preferably flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 3 g (or 3 tablespoons) of dried dill weed or an equivalent bunch of fresh dill
- 7 eggs
- 4 g (or ½ teaspoon) of salt
- 350 g (or 12 oz) of feta cheese
- 180 ml (or ¾ cup) of cooking grade olive oil
- 115 g (or 4 oz) of unsalted butter
The Method:
- If you have bought frozen fillo, thaw it according to package instructions before starting the rest of the procedure.
- About 2 hours before serving time, wash the scallions and chop them into approximately 6-mm (or ¼-in) pieces.
- Put 120 ml (or ½ cup) of olive oil into a large pot on the stove (I use a 10-l (or 10-qt) stockpot) and turn the heat to medium.
- When the oil is warm, add the chopped scallions and brown them gently, stirring occasionally. This should take at least 5 minutes.
- When the scallions are somewhat browned and wilted, remove the pot from the heat and allow the oil to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, wash, dry, and chop the spinach leaves roughly. Discard the stems or save them for soup stock.
- Wash, dry, and chop the parsley (and fresh dill) finely, discarding the thick stems.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl, add the salt, and whisk until the yolks and whites are blended.
- Crumble the feta into a small bowl.
- When the oil in the pot is cool, add about one third of the spinach, parsley, and dried or fresh dill, and stir to coat with the oil. When the spinach starts to wilt, add another third and so on, until all of the greens are in the pot.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pot and stir again to coat the greens. This will wilt the spinach a little more.
- Add the crumbled feta and mix again to distribute evenly throughout. Put the pot of spinach aside.
- Heat the oven to 180°C (or 350°F).
- Butter the inside of a rectangular baking dish that is approximately 23 x 33 (or 9 x 13 in) in size.
- Warm the remaining 60 ml (or ¼ cup) of olive oil with the butter until it is melted, then mix them together with a pastry brush.
- Lay the fillo out on a flat surface.
- Take one sheet of fillo and lay it on the bottom of the pan. If it is too large, just let one side hang over the edge.
- Lightly brush the fillo with the butter mixture. If necessary, fold the extra part of the fillo sheet back over the bottom of the dish and brush it lightly with the butter mixture also.
- Repeat steps 17 and 18 four more times, building a bottom crust for the spanakopeta.
- With a pair of tongs, fill the baking dish with the spinach mixture from the pot. It will overfill the dish, but that is quite all right. Spinach loses a lot of volume when it cooks.
- If there is liquid in the bottom of the pot, discard it.
- Lightly press down on the spinach mixture in the baking dish to get as even a top as possible.
- Take one sheet of fillo and lay it across the top of the spinach mixture. If it is too large, just let one side hang over the edge.
- Lightly brush the fillo with the butter mixture. If necessary, fold the extra part of the fillo sheet back over the top and brush it lightly with the butter mixture also.
- Repeat steps 23 and 24 until the butter mixture is all used up.
- Place the spanakopeta in the oven and bake it for 45 minutes to 1 hour, removing it when the top fillo sheet is golden brown and crispy, and the spinach is cooked.
- Immediately use a very sharp, nonserrated knife or even a new razor blade to cut the top fillo sheets into serving-size squares.
- Then use a serrated knife to cut through to the bottom of the spanakopeta, completing the separation of the serving-size squares.
- When the oven has cooled to 80°C (or 175°F), place the spanakopeta back in to keep it warm.
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