Vegan Spanakopita Triangles Recipes

VEGAN SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Defrost the unopened package of phyllo pastry in the refrigerator overnight, or at room temperature for about 4 hours. Do not open it until you are going to assemble the pie.
• Heat a large sauté pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil or butter, over a medium low heat and add the spinach. It will be piled ridiculously high, but within a few minutes it will wilt down. Use tongs to move it about and keep it cooking until it is completely wilted down, soft and dark green. it will take about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and allow to cool.
• Once the spinach is cool, take handfuls and squeeze it out over the sink until as much liquid as you can is removed. Place each handful in a large mixing bowl once you're done.
• To the spinach, add the vegan feta cheese, chopped onion, minced garlic, parsley, mint, lemon zest, nutmeg and pepper. Mix it all together really well.
• Grease an 8 inch x 12 inch or 9 inch x 13 inch (or similar) oven proof dish with a little of the olive oil or melted vegan butter and preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
• Open the phyllo pastry and lay it out flat on the counter. Have a clean, damp dish towel ready to cover it with to stop it drying out and getting brittle. If the sheets are way more than double the size of your dish cut them all in half right down the middle, otherwise just use them as they are. Some overhang is good. Brush the top sheet of phyllo with oil or melted butter and gently lift it and lay it in the centre of the oven proof dish. Keep the remaining sheets covered with the damp cloth. Push the pastry sheet down gently into the dish, letting the excess hang evenly over the sides. Don't worry if some of it falls back down the sides and into the bottom of the dish. Repeat, brushing each sheet with a little oil or butter and laying them on top of each other in the dish until you have used about half of the sheets. If any of them tear, just keep going. It doesn't matter. There will be lots of layers so by the time you are done it will fine.
• Spoon the spinach filo mixture on to the pastry layers in the dish and spread it out flat with a spatula then scrunch up the edges of the overhanging pastry and arrange them around the edge of the filling.
• Now you need to brush each of the remaining phyllo sheets with oil or butter and take each one and scrunch it up loosely in your hand, then lay it gently on top of the feta spinach filling. Keep going until they are all used, then gently tweak them a bit to cover any big gaps. A few little gaps are fine.
• Put the pie in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Open the oven, turn it around (to make sure it bakes evenland bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes or until very golden brown and crispy.
• Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before you try to cut it.

VEGAN SPANAKOPITA TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Heat the tbsp of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until translucent.
• Add the spinach to the pan and cover, stirring occasionally, until wilted. Remove from heat and drain in a strainer.
• Add the spinach mixture, tofu, salt, pepper, oregano and lemon juice to a mixing bowl. Toss to blend evenly.
• Heat the rest of the oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Remove from heat.
• On a dry cutting board lay down the first piece of phyllo dough. Lightly brush with a little oil and fold in half lengthwise. Place a spoonful (about 2 tbsp) of the mixture onto the bottom section of the dough. Take the bottom left corner and fold it over the mixture, mooshing it to make it line up with the edges of the dough. Make sure to keep a little bit of space between the mixture and the edge of the dough.
• Brush the part of the dough that is folded over the mixture with oil, and fold that section over again, the way you would fold a flag, so it makes a triangle. Keep brushing the dough lightly with oil before every fold and at the end to get the remaining edges to stick to the triangle. When you are done, you should have a 4ish inch long triangle pocket. Place on a cookie sheet and poke once with a fork to let steam out.
• Repeat this with the sheet of phyllo dough until all of the mixture is used up.
• Cook in a 425F oven for 10-20 minutes, until golden brown and flaky all over.
• If you would like a dipping sauce for the spanakopita, whisk the juice of 2 lemons into a bowl with 1/2 c olive oil and add some minced garlic.

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 TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Slowly cook and stir onions until softened.
• Mix in spinach, dill and flour.
• Cook approximately 10 minutes, or until most of the moisture has been absorbed.
• Remove from heat.
• Mix in feta cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.
• Lay phyllo dough flat and brush with butter.
• Place a small amount of spinach mixture onto each piece of dough.
• Fold phyllo into triangles around the mixture.
• Brush with butter.
• Place filled phyllo dough triangles on a large baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown.