Spanako Pasta Food

SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook spinach, stirring, until wilted and tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool, about 10 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in feta, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Melt remaining 1 stick butter in a small saucepan, then cool.
• Cover phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel.
• Take 1 phyllo sheet from stack and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with another phyllo sheet and brush with more butter. Cut buttered phyllo stack crosswise into 6 (roughly 12- by 2 3/4-inch) strips.
• Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near 1 corner of a strip on end nearest you, then fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Put triangle, seam side down, on a large baking sheet and brush top with butter. Make more triangles in same manner, using all of phyllo.
• Bake triangles in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.

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.

EASY SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Cook the onions in a saute pan with 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil until soft and translucent (4 minute on medium).
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about another 2 min.).
• Combine onions, garlic, spinach, salt and pepper, hot sauce, egg, feta, Parmesan, and cottage cheeses together in a mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons each of melted butter and olive oil.
• Grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
• Place one sheet of phyllo on the bottom of the dish brush with the butter mixture.
• Top with another sheet of phyllo dough and brush with butter mixture.
• Repeat this process until you have a total of seven sheets of phyllo dough.
• Spread all of the spinach mixture over the top of the last layer of dough.
• Then repeat the process of layering the remaining Place one sheet of phyllo over the spinach mixture and paint it with the oil mixture.
• Repeat with the remaining seven sheets of dough, brushing each new layer with the butter mixture, making sure to butter the top layer.
• Bake at 375°F until the top is golden brown (about 45 minutes).
• Cut spanakopita to make little triangles.

SPANAKOTIROPITA (SPINACH AND CHEESE PIE)

Steps:

• Clean and rinse the spinach, drain well, squeezing it gently by hand.
• Sautee the onion in the olive oil.
• Shred the spinach roughly and add it to the onion.
• Stir over medium heat to get it all coated in the olive oil. Do not add any water. Cover and cook gently for 5-6 minutes.
• Add salt, pepper, parsley and fennel and keep aside to cool down a little.
• Crumble the feta cheese into the beaten eggs.
• If the spinach mixture when cooled has produced a lot of liquid, drain it.
• before adding to the cheese and egg mixture.Season and mix well.
• Do not add any more salt as feta is quite salty.
• Unfold the roll of pastry onto a flat surface, place the container (it should be a metal oven dish with approximate size 39x28x8 cm) you are going.
• to use on top of this and measure it roughly.
• Keep in mind that fyllo shrinks once cooked so be generous with cutting away with a knife the leftover strip, if there is one.
• Oil the base and the side of the container with melted butter.
• Coat the uppermost sheet of pastry and spread it carefully on the bottom of.
• the container trying to avoid creasing. Oil the next sheet of pastry and spread it on the top of the previous.
• Place in the same fashion 8 layers fyllo on the bottom of the container and spread on the filling. Cover the filling with 8 layers of oiled fyllo without pressing it down.
• Oil the top layer well and cut only the top layers into diamond or square.
• shapes with a small sharp knife.
• Be careful not to cut the bottom layers of pastry.
• Cook in a preheated oven at 190 grades C for 40 minutes until the pastry.
• puffs up and the top becomes golden and crisp.
• When cooked, let it stand for 10 minutes and then cut the pre-shaped pieces.
• all the way down to the bottom of the tin, take them out and place them on.
• a flat platter.

SPANAKORIZO (A GREEK SPINACH RISOTTO)

Steps:

• In a deep pan heat oil and gently fry onion and leek (if used) until soft.
• Wash (or soak if necessary depending on what kind of rice you use) rice, drain and add to onion.
• Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add remaining ingredients, except spinach, and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 more minutes (longer, if using brown rice).
• Add the spinach, stir well and cover. Reduce heat and simmer on low heat for 5-6 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Leave tightly covered and allow to stand at least 1/2 an hour before serving.
• Serve with feta cheese, kalamata olives, crusty, peasant-style bread, a glass of wine and you'll think you're in Greece!