Cyprus Recipe  - Recipe Greek Spinach Pie

The Greeks are very fond of phyllo wrapped foods and one of their very favorite is Spanakopita. The first time I tried this was at a small bakery just outside Athens. The bakery made the finest Greek pies I have ever eaten. Their Spanakopita was perfect and their Loukanakopita (sausage pie) was out of this world. Here is the best recipe for Spanakopita.

The method here is the baking pan method. The alternative folding method, where single serving triangular shaped Spanakopita result, takes longer and I find it runs serious risk of drying out the phyllo dough.

10 oz pack frozen spinach
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/3 lb drained, rinsed feta cheese
2 Tbs parsley, finely chopped
6 Tbs all purpose flour
18-20 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
3/4 lb sweet butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten

Thaw the spinach and squeeze well to drain the excess water. Put in to a large mixing bowl.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saut� until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the onions to the spinach.

Pat the feta cheese dry with a paper towel and crumble in to the bowl with the spinach mixture. Add the eggs, parsley and flour to the bowl and mix well.

Brush a 9" x 13" baking pan with a generous amount of the melted butter. Lay a sheet of the phyllo dough in to the pan and brush well with the melted butter, repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo dough.

Pour half of the spinach mixture on top of the phyllo dough and spread out evenly but leave about 1/2" of the edge of the phyllo dough free of the spinach mixture.

Lay a sheet of the phyllo dough on to the spinach mixture and brush well with the melted butter, repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo dough. Spread the remaining spinach mixture on top, again leaving the edges clear. Finally lay another sheet of the phyllo dough on top of the spinach mixture and brush well with the melted butter, repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo dough.

Cover the baking pan and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes so that the spinach mixture can set.

Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the spanakopita until golden, for about 30 minutes. The spanakopita is done if golden brown and a knife inserted comes out fairly clean (likely it will be oily).

Allow the spanakopita to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Cut in to serving sized squares.

Spanakopita tastes good warm or at room temperature.