Spinach Pie (or Spanakopita)

This delicious recipe makes me drool just thinking about it. Layering several sheets of pastry and then doing the “Flag fold” around the filling makes little pockets which are great as appetizers.

Ingredients:
2 cups onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 10 oz packages frozen spinach, thawed, rinsed and squeezed
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon oil
6 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (the real stuff, not the powdery stuff), grated
3/8 cup seasoned bread crumbs, best if made from croutons (if regular bread crumbs are used, add salt and pepper)
1 pound feta cheese (can try other cheeses as well or use a blend of different cheeses), crumbled
1/4 cup walnuts, pecans or pine nuts, chopped in medium pieces, optional
1/2 cup butter
1/2 or more package phyllo dough, thawed, opened, laid flat, covered with a damp towel

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Warm a skillet.  Add 1 teaspoon butter and oil.  When melted, add onions and garlic and cook them till slightly browned.  Remove from heat.

Put eggs in a large bowl.  Stir in spinach.  Add feta, Parmesan, nuts, nutmeg and bread crumbs.  Add onions and garlic.  Mix well.

Brush each sheet of phyllo with melted butter as you layer them on the bottom of pie plate.   Use six sheets of phyllo, leaving some overlapping edge and shifting each piece to overlap a different section of the pie plate.

Put spinach mixture in the dish and mound it evenly.

Layer six more sheets of phyllo on, buttering, layering and shifting  each as you go.  Roll the overlapped edges in to form a crust.  Brush edges with butter.

Bake for about  55 minutes or until the inside is set.

Let set 15-20 minutes before cutting.