Vegan Spanakopita Food

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

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375º. Oil the cookie sheet or use parchment paper to line the pan.
• Heat 2 T oil, add spinach, green onion, garlic, and dill, and sauté, stirring frequently until spinach is limp and the liquid that sweats out has boiled away. Set aside and let cool.
• Drain tofu, wrap in towel(s), and press out excess liquid. Place in bowl and use whisk (or your hands) to mash it.
• Take the cooled spinach mixture and squeeze as much liquid out as you can.
• Add spinach, lemon juice, oregano, nutmeg, walnuts, ¼ c olive oil, yeast, salt, and pepper and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Lay down a sheet of phyllo pastry and brush with oil. Place another sheet on top and brush it with oil.
• Cut this phyllo into four strips. Place filling on the bottom right of the strip and fold the pastry across to form a triangle. Keep folding until you can't fold anymore and place on the cookie sheet.
• Bake uncovered for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

VEGAN SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Saute the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until tender and golden. Remove skillet from heat.
• Place tofu in a mixing bowl and crumble with a fork.
• Add dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper, onions, and spinach.
• Stir thoroughly to combine.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Remove half of the phyllo dough from the package and cover the rest with plastic wrap and/or a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.
• Brush the bottom and sides of a 13" X 9" glass baking dish with the melted margarine. Place 2 phyllo sheets in the dish and press in lightly.
• Lightly brush with margarine (make sure to get the edges) and top with 2 more sheets and continue repeating until you have used half of the package of phyllo dough.
• Spread the spinach mixture in dish on top of the phyllo dough.
• Top with remaining phyllo dough in the same way as before, tucking or rolling in the excess edges when finished.
• Bake 45 minutes until golden and filling is hot.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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.