greek pie

Recipe video above. Spanakopita - the iconic traditional Greek Spinach Pie with layers upon layers of golden buttery flaky filo pastry. For the best Spanakopita of your life, use raw rather than cooked spinach, and layer the phyllo pastry with finely shredded Greek cheese so it sticks together rather than flying everywhere when you cut it!This pie is a perfect thickness with a good ratio of Spinach Feta filling to pastry. It will serve 4 to 5 people as a main dish.

Spanakopita

300 grams/10 ounces English spinach leaves

tsp salt

Greek feta (, crumbled)

Greek yoghurt

green onions / scallions (, finely sliced)

tbsp mint (, finely chopped)

tbsp dill (, finely chopped)

lemon

lemon juice

garlic (, finely chopped)

tsp nutmeg (, freshly grated)

tsp black pepper

cayenne pepper

filo pastry ((Note 2))

120 grams/ 8 tbsp butter (, melted)

/ 2/3 cup Greek Kefalotyri cheese (, finely grated (sub parmesan, Note 3))

tsp white sesame seeds ((or more black))

tsp black sesame seeds ((or more white))

Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan). Line a tray with baking paper / parchment paper.

Sweat spinach: Place spinach in a large colander or bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss through. Leave for 10 minutes to sweat.

Wring out water: Place a handful of spinach in a tea towel, then wring out tightly to remove excess water.

Filling: Place spinach in a bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix well to combine.

Filling:

Trim filo: Cut 16 sheets of filo pastry into 32 x 25cm / 13 x 10&quot; (pictured) or 26cm / 10.5&quot; square.

8 base layers: Layer 8 sheets of filo pastry on the tray, brushing each layer with melted butter.

Filling: Spread filling on filo pastry. Smooth surface and leave a 2.5cm / 1&quot; border.

8 Filo topping layers (Note 4): Cover spinach with a sheet of filo pastry. Brush with butter, sprinkle with Kefalotyri. Repeat for Sheets #2 to #5. Then cover with filo sheets #6 to #8, brushing with butter in between, but do NOT sprinkle with cheese (neater finish).

Seal: Press edges down to seal. Crimp and trim if desired (see process steps in post or video) or just leave the edges flat on the tray.

Sesame seeds: Brush the top with butter, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake: Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface.

Serve! Serve immediately! It is at its absolute prime fresh out of the oven, though still good as long as its hot (~15 min or so). The base does lose crispiness as it cools.

Assembly:

Traditionally, this dish is referred to as&nbsp;Spanakopita, but since I can't even begin to pronounce that word I will tell you that it's&nbsp;basically just a mix of a lot of spinach, some eggs, herbs, and a generous amount of feta cheese. Very similar to that of a frittata, but it's the phyllo dough crust that takes this pie to another (better) level.

Greek Spinach and Feta Pie (Spanakopita)

spinach,

eggs

extra virgin olive oil

feta cheese, crumbled

parmesan cheese

fresh basil, chopped

fresh dill, chopped

fresh oregano, chopped

garlic,

red pepper flakes

kosher salt and black pepper

phyllo dough, thawed

(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

raw sesame seeds ((optional))

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, eggs, olive oil, feta, parmesan, basil, dill, oregano, lemon zest, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.&nbsp;3.&nbsp;Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on the prepared baking sheet and brush the phyllo with melted butter.&nbsp;Repeat, layering 2 more times, placing&nbsp;the sheets of dough over top each other. Now brush another sheet of dough with butter and place&nbsp;perpendicular to the bottom layer, creating&nbsp;an X.&nbsp;Repeat this layer 2 more times. Brush another sheet of dough with butter and place slightly&nbsp;off center of the x.&nbsp;Repeat this layer 2 more times.&nbsp;Simplistically, you are using 9 sheets of phyllo dough, 3 layers, in 3 different directions, kind of like a star.4. Take the spinach filling and spoon it onto the center of your phyllo dough star, leaving about 2 inches of edge space. Bring the edges of the dough up and over the spinach.5. Brush the remaining 3 sheet&nbsp;of phyllo dough with butter and layer over top of the spinach, crinkling them slightly&nbsp;to fit. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the dough.&nbsp;6. Transfer to the oven and bake for&nbsp;45-50 minutes,&nbsp;until phyllo is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.&nbsp;

This traditional Greek spinach and feta cheese pie gets a healthier makeover - we've slashed the fat, salt and calories

Lighter spanakopita

fresh spinach

tbsp rapeseed oil

shallot

spring onions

garlic

nutmeg

ricotta

dill

tbsp snipped chives

mint

filo pastry (each

feta

minted yogurt dip (see tip), to serve (optional)

cucumber & pepper salad (see tip), to serve (optional)

Pack the spinach into a large heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over and press the spinach down with a wooden spoon. Leave for 1 min to wilt, stirring a couple of times so all the leaves are submerged. Tip into a large colander and place under running cold water to cool quickly. Drain well – squeeze out any excess water by pressing the spinach down with the wooden spoon, then squeezing with your hands. Using kitchen paper, pat the spinach dry into a compact shape, lay it on a board and roughly chop, then set aside.

Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the shallot, spring onions and garlic, and fry over a high-ish heat for 3-4 mins, stirring often, until softened and just starting to brown. Lower the heat, tip in the spinach and stir for 1 min only to finish drying. Season with pepper and a good pinch of nutmeg, and leave to cool.

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and put a baking sheet in to heat up. In a bowl, stir the ricotta into the beaten egg and mix in the 2 tbsp dill, the chives and mint. Season with pepper and a pinch of salt.

Lightly oil a 20cm square x 4cm deep cake tin. Mix the remaining oil with the 1 rounded tsp dill. Lay the filo pastry sheets on a large board. Brush the top one with a little of the dill oil, then carefully lower it into the tin to line the base and 2 of the sides, with an overhang on both sides. The pastry doesn’t have to fit in smoothly – a few wrinkles and folds in it are fine. Brush a bit more oil over the second pastry sheet and this time lay it down in the tin the other way round, so it drapes over and lines the base and the other 2 sides. The tin should now be completely covered, with a pastry overhang all round. Repeat the criss-cross layering with 2 more oiled filo sheets.

Stir the ricotta mixture into the spinach, then crumble in the feta. Lightly stir it in so you leave a few chunky pieces. Spoon this filling into the lined tin and level it. Bring the pastry sides up and over the filling, then brush a little oil over them. Brush the remainder of the oil over the last filo sheet on the board. Cut the sheet in half widthways and lay one half over at a time, in big folds, to cover the filling and give you a pastry topping.

Place the tin on the heated baking sheet and bake for 25-30 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden. Leave to cool for 10-15 mins. Remove the tin and transfer to a serving plate. If your tin doesn’t have a loose bottom, carefully upturn it onto a flat board, then flip it over onto the serving plate. Serve warm or cold with minted yogurt dip and a tomato, cucumber & pepper salad (see below), if you like.

A traditional Greek savory pie with layers of flaky phyllo pastry wrapped around a richly spiced ground meat and leek filling.

Crispy Greek meat pastry

olive oil

(17.6 ounce) ground beef beef pork

(7 ounce) leeks finely chopped

(4.6 ounce) onion finely chopped

allspice

sweet paprika

cinnamon

coriander

parsley

(1 package) phyllo pastry

(⅔ cup) milk

(3 tablespoons) Greek yogurt

water

(12 tablespoons) olive oil oil

Thaw Phyllo

Thaw phyllo in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours.

Prepare The Meat Filling

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the ground meat and break it apart into coarse crumbles with a wooden spoon. Saute the meat until all juices drain from the pan and the meat is starting to brown.

Add Spices and Vegetables

Add the spices. The allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander, and sweet paprika. Stir well. Add the leeks and onions and drop the heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until leeks and onions soften.

Finish the Filling

Remove from heat and stir in the parsley. Set aside to cool.

Preheat Oven

Prepare Liquid Mixture

In a small bowl whisk together the milk, water, Greek yogurt, olive oil (or oil mixture), eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare Phyllo

Lay the phyllo stack flat open and cut it in half so you have 2 stacks of phyllo the size of the pan. One stack is for the bottom and the other one is for the top of the pie. Cover the phyllo with a tea towel so it won't air dry.

Layer Bottom Phyllo

Grease a 13 x 9-inch pan and add 2 sheets of phyllo. Drizzle the phyllo with 2 tablespoons of the milk mixture. Add 2 more phyllo sheets on top and again drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the milk mixture. Repeat this process until you have used up all of the first stack of phyllo.

Add Meat Filling

Add the ground meat filling and spread it evenly.

Layer Top Phyllo

Add phyllo on top the same way you did for the base of the pie, using the second stack of phyllo.

Finish and Bake

Cut the pie into 8 pieces and pour the remaining milk mixture on top. Bake for 40-45 minutes until deep golden and crispy on top.

Serve

This is soooo good. Followed the recipe exactly and it came out beautifully. 

As always, thanks for all the helpful tips and explanations, Nagi! I'd only used frozen filo pastry before and the refrigerated version was definitely much easier to work with.

Made this for lunch yesterday and it’s brilliant. I used baby spinach and didn’t have mint or dill, but still delicious. I used a mix of melted butter and the oil from some marinated feta to brush the filo. Instead of making one, I made two smaller ones by halving the filo sheets, so no leftover strips. They fit beautifully onto quarter sheet trays, which fit perfectly into my Kmart oven/airfryer. Easy to serve too, as I cut each one into identical quarters, feeding 8 people with a side salad.

Omg, this was delicious!!! 😋 
I just came back from holiday in a Greek island and wanted to recreate spanakopita and this was even better than what I had in Greece!
So happy with this, thank you for the great recipe Nagi san! X

This was absolutely delicious! Such good flavour and loved the idea of cheese in-between the pastry layers.  Both my lunch guests asked for your recipe!

My first spanakopita.  This took longer and was harder than I expected. By the end I was swearing under my breath and mumbling if I knew it was going to be this hard I would have made baklava instead. 

When I pulled it out of the oven and dished it up I had a change of heart. Anything that tastes and looks this good is worth the effort. Definitely on my cook again list.

Delish! This was a last minute, throw-together dinner. Despite resorting to frozen spinach it was still amazing. Absolute winning recipe to have up your sleeve.

Divine and so easy to make. I do this recipe a lot and it’s perfect every time. The dill and pinch of cayenne really make the dish

Amazing.  Made it for 20. Nome left.  Terrific, easy to make recipe .

This is sooo good. The filling is soo flavorful, and using the fresh spinach gives it the perfect amount of moisture. Instead of the filo (I was in a rush) I used a sheet of premade puff pastry and it was delicious!

I’ve also made this using pre-washed baby spinach. Honestly? It’s much easier.
Leftovers freeze well. . Just defrost and reheat in the oven, just ensure any exposed filling is protected.

Unbelievable! So filling ( I may have had 50/75 gms more spinach). Everyone eating seconds, and for my GF relative, worked better with GF puff than rice flour wraps. Flavour was incredible- and combined it with the Greek Lamb salad …..magnificent!

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