Ohhhh Spana-spanako-spanakopita!

That's right. Span-a-ko-pita. Once you get used to the name it IS possible to say it three-times fast. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this, it is essentially a Greek spinach pie. I've tried it a few times from a few different places and decided I would give making it myself a shot. While it wasn't perfect, nor compare with each of the places I had originally tried it at, it still tasted pretty good and I was glad it didn't end up in the bottom of the kitchen trash can. First time around I thought it would be a good idea to try out a recipe I found online.

Ingredients
1 bunch green onion
1 large onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2 lb. spinach
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 sheets philo dough
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet* over medium heat. Meanwhile, chop green onion, onion, garlic.

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 3. Be sure to thoroughly rinse spinach. 

** I double rinse mine to make sure I get all of the dirt out.

1. 4. Add rinsed spinach to saute pan and cook down. Once mixture is cooked down, remove from heat and let cool.
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3. * Make sure this really is a large skillet. 2 lbs is a lot of spinach, and it took much longer than planned to get it to cook down. I had to cook mine in 3-4 batches. This also creates a lot of water I would recommend draining some of the liquid as you go.

5.  In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture*. 

 

* This really does need to be cooled. I made the mistake of mixing the hot spinach mixture with the cheese mixture and not only did it cause a significantly larger amount of liquid because of the ricotta, but it also made the overall mixture more damp.

6. 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. 

7.  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.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.

I baked mine for 45 minutes and I would probably either bake it a little bit longer to make the dough more golden and crispy, or brush the very top layer with egg (or slightly more oil) so that it would turn that nice, golden color.