My sister made this wonderful authentic Greek dish for the family one night when she was here visiting last week. It was so much fun being able to snap some photos while she explained every step of the recipe and demonstrated the “technique” of this dish. This recipe came from her boyfriend’s mother who hailed from Greece, Zora St. Martin (her Greek maiden name was Zaharias, she married a French Canadian). Zora died about two years ago at age 88, and had a successful catering business in Newport, NH. Before she passed on she wrote down the recipe for her son, which I have shared below. As a bonus, she also included the recipe for Tiropita, which is similar to Spanakopita but doesn’t have spinach.
The first thing my sister said before making this was to correct my pronunciation of the dish. I’ve been saying it wrong all these years! It is span-uh-KOH-pih-ta, NOT span-uh-koh-PEE-ta. This also makes a very large amount. She said whenever they cook this at home, they wrap up individual packages to give to friends. They actually have friends calling them asking them when they are going to make it again, it is that good! This also makes a wonderful breakfast or brunch. It took us a few days, but we ate every last bit of this! My sister also found some cute little lamb chops on sale at the store, which she marinated in soy sauce, honey, and red chile flakes and grilled them up as a nice “side” to the Spanakopita. Thank you Molly for an awesome dinner!
Spanakopita
1 package Filo (Phyllo) dough, thawed in refrigerator
3 10-ounce packages frozen spinach, thawed
1 bunch green onions
Handful of fresh dill sprigs
16-ounce container cottage cheese
24-ounces crumbled Feta cheese
6 well-beaten eggs
2 sticks melted butter (1/2 pound)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the thawed spinach in a colander and squeeze out as much liquid as possible with your hands. Literally grab bunches of the spinach and wring it out like a wet washcloth. My sister demonstrated this beautifully:
Chop the green onions…
then mix them thoroughly with the spinach in a large bowl.
Mince the dill, then add to the spinach mixture along with the cottage and Feta cheeses and the beaten eggs. Combine thoroughly.
Brush a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with some of the butter. Layer 5 or 6 Filo sheets in the bottom of the pan, including up the sides.
Press in 1/4 of the spinach mixture in an even layer.
Layer 3 or 4 more sheets of Filo, then coat with butter evenly with a brush.
Repeat layers of spinach, Filo, and butter. The top layer should be at least 5 or 6 sheets of Filo. Pour any remaining butter over the top and brush around.
Bake in the preheated heated oven for 45 minutes until the top is golden-brown. If it starts to get too brown you can lightly cover it with a piece of foil. After 45 minutes, turn oven down to 350 and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven, and let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
While the Spanakopita was resting, these pretty babies were thrown onto the grill for a few minutes on each side.
Dinner is served!
Seriously! This looks amazing! Central Market (a high end grocery store similar to WF) is having a 2 weeks Greek fest! I bought so much Greek food and wine that I cannot wait to try. This meal would be perfect; send you sister to my house please! Cheers.
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She sure made a fine Spanakopita! I’m sure my sister would love to share a glass of wine with you. She lives in Austin, there is a Central Market there too! Thanks Michelle!
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OMG. That just made me so hungry! I love spanikopita. I have to add the ingredients to my shopping list.
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Thank you so much D! It was very delicious. 🙂
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Thank you for sharing! This looks AMAZING.
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Thank you so much Deloris! 🙂
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Making me HUNGRY!!! I love this dish. Does she have the recipe for Moussaka too? Num, num, num!
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I will have to ask her Sam! I’ll let you know. 🙂 Thank you!
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This is a beautiful post Kathryn. It’s a charming story, and the dish looks terrific. I’m sure it was fun to be behind the camera while someone else did the preparation for a change too. Hugs to you and your sister too. 😀 (Shared on LinkedIn.)
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Wow, thanks so much for the share too, Teagan! It was great not to have to stop in mid-prep to set up for a photo. I’ll give my sister a cyber-hug now that she’s back in Texas. ❤
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Reblogged this on I am Southern Sweet & Sassy and commented:
OMG. This looks so yummy! I love spanikopita. For more amazing recipes like this one go to: https://anotherfoodieblogger.wordpress.com
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I really appreciate the reblog Deloris!
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Want a great dish Kathryn, it looks like you’re having a lot of fun with your sister. We have a Greek festival here in Santa Cruz and the food is really good.
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Thank you Gerlinde, we had a great time! She left last Sunday, but was here for nine days. Lucky you to be having a Greek festival in your area!
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To my shame I have never tried this dish… ……I will now, look amazing!
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Thanks Rory, I think you’ll like it!
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That looks delicious! I have never had spanakopita, looks like a lot of work but anything that is good takes time!
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It looked like a lot of work, however I wasn’t the one doing it, lol! I just took photos. 😀
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Oh yum! This spanakopita looks delicious! Sounds like a fun time cooking with your sister 🙂
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We had a great week together, thank you!
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No wonder this is delicious with all that butter! A lasagne version of this may be interesting — spinach with cheese and eggs is classic, but I have not seen it before with dill and spring onions thrown in.
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Yes this is pretty loaded with calories so doing a lasagna version would certainly cut out most of, if not all, the butter!
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So elegant. The photos are really excellent.
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Thank you so much Conor, that is a great compliment coming from you! I love my “squeezing the water out of the spinach” shot, which reminded me of your gratuitous “pouring” shots. 😉 😀
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Awww. This is fabulous. I love your photo series! And I am madly in love with greek food. I have a little history with it and your sister’s spanakopita had to be one of the best things you have ever eaten! How much fun you must of had in the kitchen with your sister. I imagine the lamb was out of this world too. I wish I was there too…
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Thank you Seana, it was such a great week being with my sister from Texas and we cooked and ate, cooked and ate, and did lots of sight-seeing. I love my sister! And yes, the lamb was spectacular! We don’t see it offered in the stores here that often.
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Yum, this looks ah-mah-zing. I have greek friends and one greek housemate so I guess a spinakopita evening is definitely coming up.
Thanks for this recipe and greetings from the student kitchen,
Johanna
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My sister gets all the credit for this one, she did a great job. Thank you and greetings back to you Johanna and the student kitchen!
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