Spanakopita Armenian Style Recipes

EASY SPANAKOPITA APPETIZERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, mix the first 9 ingredients. Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface; brush with butter. Layer with 2 additional phyllo sheets, brushing each layer. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.), Arrange 3/4 cup spinach mixture in a narrow row along the long end of phyllo to within 1 in. of edges. Fold bottom edge of phyllo over filling, then roll up. Brush end of phyllo dough with butter and press to seal. Repeat 4 times with phyllo sheets, butter and the spinach mixture. Place rolls on a parchment-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan, seam side down., Cut rolls diagonally into 2-in. pieces (do not separate). Brush tops with remaining butter. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. If desired, serve with tzatziki sauce, lemon wedges and dill sprigs. , Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked rolls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until firm. Transfer to a freezer container; return to freezer. To use, bake rolls on a parchment-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan in a preheated 375° oven until heated through and golden brown, about 25 minutes.

SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Place oven rack in center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
• Preheat a small pan over medium to medium high heat. Add oil and onion and saute 5 minutes. Place onion in a bowl. Add chopped dry, defrosted spinach and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add feta to the bowl and combine it with spinach. Add beaten egg and sour cream to the bowl and combine with cheese, spinach and onion.
• On a large work surface, place 1 sheet of phyllo. Paint half of the sheet with a little melted butter, paying extra attention to your perimeter. Fold sheet in half. Pile 1/4 of your spinach mixture into a log shape working 2 inches from bottom and each side. Tuck bottom up and fold both sides in, then roll and wrap upwards until you reach the edge of the dough sheet. Each pastry will resemble an egg roll. Paint the seam and the ends of the roll with butter and set roll seam side down on a cookie sheet. Repeat and make 4 rolls. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly golden all over and serve.

SPANAKOPITA (GREEK SPINACH PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.

SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place spinach in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender, about 2 to 6 minutes. Drain and press to remove all water. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender, but do not brown. Stir in cooked spinach and continue cooking until all moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• In a large bowl combine feta cheese, Swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley and cinnamon. Stir in spinach and onion mixture.
• Brush the bottom of a 17x11 inch jelly roll pan with butter. Place 1 sheet of dough in the bottom of the pan; brush with butter. Continue to layer 13 more sheets of dough, brushing every other sheet with butter. Spread spinach and cheese mixture over dough. Continue layering with remaining dough, brushing every other sheet with butter. Tuck edges of dough under. Brush top sheet with butter and, using a sharp knife, score top layer into diamonds.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

SPANOKOPITA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add the scallions. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the scallions, dill, eggs, feta, salt, and pepper and mix together.
• Keep the phyllo dough sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel. Unfold 1 sheet of the phyllo dough. Brush the sheet with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Repeat the process by laying a second sheet of phyllo dough over the first sheet, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs until all 10 sheets have been used. Spoon 3/4 cup of the spinach mixture into a sausage shape along one edge of the phyllo dough. Roll it up. Brush the top with butter and score the roll into 1-inch rounds. Place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the pastry and filling have been used.
• Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Serve warm.

SPANAKOPITA, ARMENIAN STYLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350Squeeze thawed spinach until most of liquid is removed.
• Melt two tablespoons of butter in saute pan. Saute chopped scallions. Add chopped dill and black pepper.
• Add spinach and stir, allowing liquid to evaporate, but don't brown.
• Remove from heat and cool.
• Meanwhile, crumble feta in a bowl and add egg. Stir.
• Add spinach mixture to cheese mixture and mix.
• Melt one stick of butter and carefully scrape off foam from the top. Pour off liquid butter leaving residue in the bottom of pan. This is clarified butter, or ghee.
• Lay out filo dough and cover with a damp cloth or paper towels and cover with a dry towel, when not in use to keep filo from drying out.
• If you want small triangles for an appetizer, cut filo in two equal rectangles and stack. Cover with damp towels.
• Take one sheet of filo and place on wax paper, shorter side closer to you.
• Brush with melted clarified butter.
• Place a spoonful of filling two inches from the bottom and slightly to the right of center.
• Fold right side over filling, and left side over right, making a long strip, approximately 3 inches wide, with filling on the right side of folded strip. This will make it easier to fold triangle without breaking filo.
• Brush with melted butter.
• Fold bottom two inches up, over filling and press gently. Fold filo diagonally up from left point of bottom. Fold again straight up, creating triangle. Continue folding in this manner, diagonally and straight until you have a perfect triangle.
• Place all triangles on a cookie sheet brushed with melted butter.
• Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until light golden brown.

SPANAKOPITA (SPINACH TRIANGLES OR PIE)

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan, add half of the spinach and saute until spinach wilts, tossing with tongs, about 2 minutes. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).
• Stir the feta and as much beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.
• Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.
• Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Serve hot. (These may be frozen before baking, layering waxed paper between layers of triangles to keep them from sticking. Bake frozen triangles an extra 10 minutes.)

SPANAKOPITA BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix egg, spinach and cheeses. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter., Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared pan; brush with butter. Layer with 7 additional phyllo sheets, brushing each layer. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Spread top with spinach mixture. Top with remaining phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with butter., Freeze, covered, 30 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1-in. squares. Bake 35-45 minutes or until golden brown. Refrigerate leftovers.