Reposted from the Lounge to the C&B Group at the suggestion of
Husb2Sparkly.
I try to make a nice dinner on Fridays. Tonight I decided to make spanakopita, the Greek spinach and cheese phyllo pie which one finds in Greek restaurants and diners.
You're going to need some authentic Greek ingredients. Talk to this man
at Athens Grocery, 324 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 312/332-6737.
He can sell you a half pound of
and a quarter pound of
and a quarter pound of mizithra cheese, which looks like
While you're at it, pick up a box of
There's no substitute for that.
And keep your grubby paws out of the olive bucket, willya? Jesus.
For the filling you'll need a whole lot of
and some of
and also
It's a messy business--spinach leaves and phyllo shards get everywhere--so to clean up any stray bits of food on the floor you'll need a
Wash and stem the spinach and set it to steam lightly for a few minutes. Chop and saute the onion.
Combine all the filling ingredients in a big bowl.
It's time to assemble the pie. Preheat your oven to
and get out your
Those clumps of bristles sold as 'pastry brushes' at the supermarket won't do. Go straight to the hardware store and get a real brush.
Open up your package of phyllo
Brush some molten butter on the bottom of the pan, lay half a sheet in the pan and brush again with butter:
Folder over and brush again:
Repeat with four more sheets of phyllo.
Spread the filling in the pan
At this point, realize that you forgot to add the
Remove the filling with a
and add the lightly-beaten eggs. Realize, also, that you forgot to add the nutmeg.
"Honey, do we have any nutmeg?"
"How am I supposed to know?"
Add a pinch of pumpkin pie spice and hope no one notices. Replace filling in pan.
Lay more phyllo as described above:
Put it in the oven. Clean up a big-ass
After 40-50 minutes it'll come out
Let it cool down for a while.
Serve
and enjoy with
in the company of friends and family.
Recipe