Spanakopita (spinach pie with cheese)

I like the combo of spinach and cheese but whenever I think of buying it, the ingredients will always include egg. I thought of preparing myself without egg. I surely have to tell the spinach and cheese combination tastes heavenly.

Spanakopita is a Greek pastry. According to Wikipedia spanakopita is "It is in the burek family of pastries with a filling of chopped spinach,feta cheese (sometimes in combination with  ricotta cheese, as it is less expensive, and adds creaminess), onions or scallions, egg  and seasoning"

The cheese blended well with spinach so there was no need of eggs. I avoided lots of butter, to say the spray was really useful. If you don't have spray you can use a mixture of butter and olive oil. For easier way you can use frozen spinach too.

Phyllo sheets are layered with savory spinach and feta cheese. Spanakopita can be made ......

as a pie, individual shapes or like pita bread too. Even if it cools the phyllo has a lot of crispiness, so it can be used in parties too. It can be prepared ahead  before for party and can be kept in freezer. At the time of party you can just bake it.

For vegan version, butter can be replaced with olive oil and cheese can be replaced with tofu.

Ingredients:

Phyllo sheets - 1 pack
Spinach - 2 cups
Garlic - 2 pods
Onion - 1
Spring onions - 1 bunch
Feta cheese - 1/2 cup (scrambled)
Paramesan cheese - 2 tbsp
Green Chilly - 2 or 3 or pepper
Butter - 3 tbsp + Oil spray
Salt - as per taste

Method:

Chop onion, spinach, garlic, green chilly(if using) very finely.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 2 tbsp of olive oil . Add finely chopped onions,green chilly, spring onions. Cook until softened. Add chopped spinach and cook for 5 minutes or until the water is released. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring often, until the spinach is dry, 5 to 8 minutes.

Stir salt, feta cheese and Parmesan cheese. If using pepper, it can be added now. Switch off immediately, allow to cool.
 

 Lightly oil a rectangular baking pan. Melt the butter. Unroll the phyllo sheets  in a dry surface. Lay 1 sheet in the pan and grease with butter or spray the oil. Repeat like this for 8 layers. Each layer should be brushed with oil or butter.

Spread the spinach mixture over the phyllo. Top with 8 more sheets brushing each one with butter and oil, including the top layer. If there are excess sheets on the sides cut with a sharp knife. (I folded all the excess on that itself).

Preheat the oven to 375 deg F.

If you feel it is not easy to handle, refrigerate for 30 minutes or cut the squares in the pan itself carefully not to disturb the spinach mixture. Spray some water on top. Bake the pie until crisp and golden , about 30 minutes.

Note:

Phyllo sheets are very thin and difficult to handle(for first time). It is very essential to keep in a damp cloth to avoid drying. If it is exposed without the damp cloth the sheet will cut.

If the sheets are cut, you can insert in the middle layers.

If using frozen, remove from freezer, without unwrapping keep in the refrigerator for overnight. Once it is thawed, unwrap the sheets and remove only the number of sheets needed for the recipe; Wrap in the same plastic wrap and return to the freezer.

Sending it to Chef Al Dente for the Gimme Green event,
                to Tickling Palates for the Let's Cook Greens event,
                to Sumee's Culinary Bites for the Bon Vivant event,
                to Sara's Corner for the Women's Day Celebration event,
                to Shama's Easy2cook Recipes for Sara's Cooking With Love - Granddad Series event,
                to Srav's Cooking Concepts for the Vegan Diet - Only Plant Based event and to
                to Cuisine Delights for the Spotlight - Colorful Holi event.
                to Priya easy and tasty Kids Delight event