Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

I love Spanakopita! The combination of spinach, feta, and filo are great dinner, lunch, or breakfast!

Spanakopita means spinach pie. This savoury pastry originated in Greece and typically consists of spinach, feta cheese, onions or spring onions, eggs, and seasoning with a hint of herb flavour coming from dill, mint, or even parsley wrapped in layered filo pastry.

Ingredients for Spanakopita

Spinach takes a starring role in Spanakopita. I once bought frozen Kale instead of spinach…and well, kale is a great substitute.

Yellow onions give a great oniony flavour but don’t be shy – use shallots, spring onions, or sweet onions instead.

Garlic needs to be measured with the heart. I find for our tastes, 6 cloves work wonders.

Feta is the standard cheese used in this dish. Salty, with a little tang.

Olive oil can be substituted with a more neutral flavoured oil or even butter.

Making a spinach pie with filo (phyllo)

It’s easier than it looks. I used to find spinach intimidating. But over the years my love for spinach has grown, it’s hands down my favourite green vegetable. Spinach is very versatile. It can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in a multitude of ways.

There is one trick needed for a great spinach pie – dry spinach. Once the spinach has been cooked and cooled, as much water as possible needs to be squeezed out. Without this crucial step you may end up with a slimy texture, and no one wants that.

Once all your filling is mixed together, it’s time to put together the pie as a whole.

Now, filo also used to intimidate me. The pastry is paper-thin, and it breaks easily. But once you start layering the filo it is a very forgiving pastry.

When layering the filo using butter or olive oil, the pastry becomes pliable and any tears or rips can be easily hidden.

The layering is effortless; you place a sheet of filo on your kitchen counter, then dip your pastry brush into the oil (or melted butter) and gently paint it on covering as much of the surface as possible. Once the sheet is covered, you then add another layer of pastry and repeat until you have created the desired thickness.

Tips for making Spanakopita

Spinach must be as dry as possible. When the spinach has been cooked and has cooled down, take bunches of the spinach and squeeze out as much water as possible.

Fresh or frozen spinach, it doesn’t matter. I usually opt for frozen spinach because of convenience. However, I have used fresh spinach for this pie and have even chopped up leftover fresh spinach and added it to the frozen spinach to use up ingredients.

The quickest and easiest way to cook the spinach is to place the spinach in a colander and douse with a kettle or two of boiling water.

How many eggs needed depends on the amount of spinach you use and the size of the eggs. I typically use 3 – 4 eggs in this recipe, however, if I have very large eggs sometimes only two is needed.

This recipe can be used to either make a single large pie or multiple hand pies. If you are making a single large pie, half the filo is used for the base and the other half for the top of the pie. If you are making smaller pies the filo can be divided equally amongst the number of pies you have decided to make.

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