Meals, Snacks

Cheesy And Tasty Spanakopita -Indulge Into Greek Savory Pie

Ratings – 4.6/5

Preparation Time – 1 hour 10 minutes

You must be wondering, what is Spanakopita? Well, the recipe you all have been asking for is finally here. Crispy and flaky from the outside, but extremely tasty, creamy and rich from the inside, if you still haven’t tried this savory pie, then here is your chance to do so. Get ready to bake some delicious Spanakopita in your oven! Made mainly with fresh spinach, feta cheese and eggs, we bet you cannot find a spinach pie better than this. A perfect snack to munch on during the festive season, here is everything you need to know about the spanakopita recipe.

Invention Of Spanakopita!

Origin – Before moving ahead to the full recipe guide, let us dig deep into the roots of Spanakopita. As per our research, the origin of this mouth-watering savory pie lies in Turkey, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In fact, the very recipe for this savory spinach pie can also be found in many traditional Greek cookery books! Similarly, a few also say that almost 400 years back, Spanakopita was brought into Turkish cuisine. It is quite fair to say that with time, many different variants of Spanakopita have come to our attention list. Speaking specifically of today’s recipe, here we have tried to follow the authentic Greek recipe of Spanakopita.
Inspiration – According to the information gathered by us, a few sources do say that Spanakopita is very much inspired by a traditional Greek pie called, hortopita. It seems like this creamy Spinach delicacy is mainly based on the recipe of a special type of Greek pie, mostly filled with wild greens.
Popularity – Spanakopita happens to be a very popular local snack item in Greece. One can easily find this in any of the Greek delis and bakeries out there. A vegan version of Spanakopita, made without cheese and eggs is also quite famous in Greece.

On popular demand, here is our version of the authentic Spanakopita! Continue reading to get the full recipe for this flaky and savory spinach pie.

Ingredients

Olive oil for cooking
2 pounds of Spinach
8-10 phyllo sheets
1 large Onion, chopped
2-3 Spring onion, chopped
500-600 grams of feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs
Parsley, chopped
Garlic, minced
Dill, chopped
2 tbsp of Oregano
½ tsp of nutmeg
Salt and pepper as per taste

Cheesy And Tasty Spanakopita -Indulge Into Greek Savory Pie

Spanakopita Recipe In Detail – Steps To Follow

Step 1

To begin this recipe, firstly, on a hot pan, drizzle some olive oil, add the chopped onion and sauté for a while. Next, in the same pan, add spinach and wait for at least 7 to 8 minutes, until all the spinach leaves have wilted. Keep the flame between low to medium, as spinach can be overcooked really quickly.

Step 2

Once, all the spinach leaves have reduced in size, turn off the heat and transfer this spinach mixture to a strainer. Right below the strainer, place a glass bowl to collect all the water that will be released out of this spinach mix. To make the process super easy, use a spatula to press down the spinach leaves!

Step 3

Next in a separate bowl, firstly, crack in 2 eggs, then add the strained-off spinach mix, crumbled feta cheese, spring onion, dill, parsley and minced garlic. Use a spatula to mix everything together. Season your savory pie filling with oregano, a bit of nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Step 4

Now, it’s time to assemble our Greek spinach pie. For this particular process, firstly brush a generous amount of olive oil in your baking dish, remember to cover the whole space. Then start layering up the phyllo sheets.

Step 5

We are using a total of 8 phyllo sheets here. On your baking dish, add a phyllo sheet and brush some olive oil on top of it. Again, take another phyllo sheet and place it on the baking dish. Repeat the same process until you have assembled a total of 4 to 5 layers of phyllo sheets on the baking dish.

Step 6

Next, add your prepared spinach filling right at the center of those layered-up phyllo sheets! After adding the filling, place another phyllo sheet on top of the filling, brush some olive oil and again add another layer of phyllo sheet on top of it.

Step 7

Repeat the same process until you have a beautiful layer of 4-5 phyllo sheets on top of your spinach filling. Remember, we want it to look like a round-shaped pie, thus feel free to use a knife to tuck in the edges of this pie.

Step 8

Next, use a knife to slice up your spinach pie, and draw horizontal and vertical lines to get proper square sizes of Spanakopita. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius and bake this for at least 45 minutes. Once you see a bright golden color on your phyllo sheets, you will know that your Spanakopita is all ready to be served.