Spanakopita triangles with store bought phyllo or spanakopitakia
Spanakopitakia are the perfect triangles of phyllo filled with spinach and cheese.
Servings: 50 pieces
Equipment
- large sauce-pot
- colander
- cheesecloth
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 15 ounces fresh spinach
- 1/2 head of curly leaf lettuce
- 9 spring (green) onions
- 1/2 cup packed, chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
- 1 cup crumbled Greek feta
- 1 pound phyllo
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash spinach and lettuce very well and remove any leaves which appear wilted or discoloured. Unless the stems of the spinach leaves are very large and tough, you do not need to remove them.15 ounces fresh spinach, 1/2 head of curly leaf lettuce
- Finely chop the spinach and lettuce. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, boil a large pot of water. While the water is getting to the boil, wash and then finely chop up the green onions and the parsley. Use both the white and green part of the onion.9 spring (green) onions, 1/2 cup packed, chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Once the parsley and onions are chopped, place them in a large colander.
- When your pot of water has boiled, drop in your spinach and your lettuce. Blanch these for a mere 30 seconds. Then, take your pot and drain your spinach and lettuce into the colander. You will be pouring the hot, boiling water over the green onions and parsley. Immediately run cold water over the vegetables to cool them and to retain their vibrant green colour.
- Let the vegetable mixture drain for a while. In order to remove all of the water however, place your vegetables in the center of a square of tulle or cheesecloth (or even a clean kitchen towel) and squeeze out as much water as possible.
- Once the water has been squeezed out, place the vegetables in a bowl. To the vegetables add a beaten egg, salt, pepper, olive oil and crumbled feta. Mix well to combine.1 egg, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil, 1 cup crumbled Greek feta
- Now you are ready to fold your spanakopitakia.
- Unroll your phyllo dough. It will likely be rectangular shaped. Place the long end of the rectangle from left to right on your work surface, and the shorter end, top to bottom. Starting at the top, cut out strips of phyllo which are 3 inches wide. Pile the strips one on top of the other, to help keep things organized.1 pound phyllo
- Once you are ready to start making the spanakopita triangles, take a double layer of phyllo and lay it in front of you. Brush with some olive oil (you don’t want to soak it through, and it does not need to be brushed with olive oil all over). A good tip is to soak your pastry brush in the oil one time and use that to brush on the strips.
- Place approximately 2 teaspoons of filling at the bottom of the phyllo strip. You are now ready to start making your triangles. Pay attention! 🙂
- Take the bottom, left hand corner of your phyllo strip and fold it over the filling, bringing it to the right hand edge, just above where your filling ends. Then, take what is now the bottom right hand corner, and fold it over so that it reaches the left hand edge. Now move again to the left hand corner, and bring that to the right hand edge. Keep repeating. You will see that after a few movements, your triangle will start to take shape. Refer to the pictures above to help visualize what we are trying to describe, as well as this video. Repeat process to make more triangles.
- Place your prepared spanakopitakia on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush olive oil on the top of each spanakopita triangle. Bake on bottom rack of oven for about 10 minutes and then move the baking sheet to the middle rack of the oven for approximately 10 more minutes. Your spakanopita are done when the phyllo (filo) has crisped up and taken on a beautiful and toasty tan colour.
- Enjoy!