Spanakopita

Last night I made some spanakopita - or greek spinach pie. I love this stuff! Kevin and Carson both really liked it, too, although Kevin wasn't too enthusiastic about it when I told him what we were having. He's had spanakopita in restaurants before and hasn't cared too much for it. I've ordered it many times in restaurants and have had my boss, Connie's, homemade spanakopita - which is the recipe I based mine on last night. Connie didn't really give me a recipe, more of a method. You can pretty much alter the quanitities of the ingredients to your liking - some people like more spinach and some people like more cheese. I love them both. You can also use fresh or frozen spinach. I used fresh since that's what I had.


Spanakopita

1 roll phyllo dough, thawed
spinach, fresh or frozen, drained of all excess water (I used about 3 large bags of fresh spinach, steamed down and drained)
feta cheese
ricotta cheese (about equal parts of both feta and ricotta - with a little more feta than ricotta)
sauteed diced onion
dill
oregano
garlic powder
salt
pepper
1 stick butter, melted

Begin by mixing together the spinach, cheese, onion, and spices in a bowl. Use however much of the spices that you like - be sure you taste the mixture. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to get the flavors incorporated.

Then begin brushing each piece of phyllo dough with melted butter. After brushing each piece, place it in a casserole or pie dish. You won't be able to just place the phylly centered in the dish, you have to stagger it on every layer, leaving enough hanging off the edge to use to wrap up the spinach filling and cover completely on top.

Once you have your phyllo all buttered and stagger-layered, pour the spinach mixture into the dough. Wrap up the edges of the overhanging phyllo over top of the spinach mixture, covering completely. Brush the top with butter.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.