Spanakopita

Every year I work with sheets of fillo dough once a year.  It's during that time that I remember how much a pain in the rear end it is to work with fillo dough and then I don't do it for another year.  Tonight was my reminder.

I wanted to make my lady friend some homemade spanakopita.  I bought a 6 oz bag of spinach leaves at the "Iggle" and ended up chopping up the whole bag.  I wilted the chopped spinach in a skillet with a splash of water drizzled over top.  I mixed in some shakes of an interesting Greek spice mix we picked up in Chicago's Greektown last year.  It has salt, pepper, Greek oregano, cayenne, and cinnamon in the blend.  Once this was drained, I mixed in some feta cheese.

Then came time to work with the fillo sheets.  You have to keep them moist or else they'll dry out and flake apart, so I covered them on a baking sheet with a moist towel.  If you hold an individual sheet up, you can practically see through it.  I think each sheet is like 8 microns in thickness (42% serious).

I kept a small saucepan of melted butter on low so that I could dip my pastry brush in it easily.  After each layer of fillo, I brushed it with butter to prevent overburning.  After about 4 layers on the bottom, I added a spoonful of the spinach-feta.  3 more layers, then more spinach-feta.  3 more layers for the top, then I folded it into a giant triangle.  I made us each one of these and the flaky delights puffed a little in the oven.

I baked them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and served with some rice pilaf and roasted squash and parsnips.  On a night when it was 15 degrees outside, this was the perfect comfort meal.