Spinach Pie

A delicious, fairly simple spinach and feta cheese pie that is almost a quiche with the large amount of eggs, and is quite rustic in appearance. I adapted this from Barefoot Contessa, in that I eliminated the butter, using olive oil and a pastry brush for the Filo, used a pie plate instead of a square pan, adjusted the spice levels, and added garlic and a hint of lemon. You could experiment with other kinds of cheese if you don’t like Feta. Cheddar works nicely but it won’t puff as much and will be a denser pie.

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 - 6

Prep Time: 30 minutes   Cook Time: 60 minutes  

Ingredients

1 large sweet onion OR two medium regular onions, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds fresh spinach, steamed until wilted, then drained and chopped OR 2 small packages of frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and chopped
6 eggs
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 cups Feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp salt
Optional: 1 tsp ground nutmeg OR 1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
6 to 8 sheets Filo dough, defrosted
1/2 cup olive oil for brushing the Filo

Directions

Mix all ingredients, let sit while you prepare the filo.

Follow directions on filo package for thawing. Then unroll onto clean surface, and cover with a damp cloth, or the filo will dry and crumble, quite quickly!

Using a pie plate, spread each sheet of filo one by one, covering the rest of the filo while you do this with the damp cloth, alternating the direction in a criss-cross. You must brush each sheet with olive oil before you layer the next, or it won’t form a nice crust. Continue until you have 6 to 8 sheets.

Place filling into pie plate, spread out evenly.

Fold filo up and over filling towards center. If it doesn’t quite cover, brush the top with oil,take another sheet of filo, fold in half, and spread over the top, tucking into the sides if needed.

Brush entire top with olive oil.

Bake in 350 degree oven for approx 60 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. It will puff up quite a bit. Test with a knife as you would custard.

Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

Categories: Cheese, Dairy, Eggs, Main Dish, One Dish Meal, Other Main Dish

Tags: Greek

Submitted by: mouse on May 2, 2011