Greek Hortopita (Green Pie With Spinach, Leek And Fresh Herbs)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour & 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 20 minutes
Servings: 12 pieces

Hortopita is a beloved dish from Greece, known for being one of the healthiest, antioxidant-packed foods out there. It's loaded with a delightful mix of greens and herbs, all drizzled with generous amounts of extra virgin olive oil. And let’s not forget the rustic homemade phyllo dough that wraps it all up!

Ingredients:

For The Dough:

400 grams (3 cups & 2 tbsp) durum wheat flour for storebought phyllo instructions, see text above
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
280 ml water

For The Greens Filling:

600 grams fresh spinach
400 grams mixed greens (swiss chard, nettles, Mediterranean Hartwort, beetroot greens, Mallow, Dock)
35 grams chervil
20 grams dill
75 grams (3 small) spring onions or green garlic green parts separated from white parts, finely chopped
60 grams leek finely chopped
55 grams red onion finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For The Pie:

125 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
80 ml (⅓ cup) olive oil

Directions:

Make The Dough:

Combine flour, salt, olive oil, and vinegar in a mixing bowl.
Add the water in gradually while you mix the dough with your hands. The dough should feel soft and just a little bit sticky as you knead it.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes. If it leaves fragments on your hands, dust in a little bit more flour.
Rest the dough. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it at room temperature while you prepare the filling.

Make The Filling:

Wash all of the greens thoroughly and drain in a strainer.
Chop the leaves and finely chop the stems. Add to a large mixing bowl. Leaving aside the onions, leek, spring onions, chervil, and dill.
Add the 2½ teaspoons of salt to the greens and give them a good massage. Until their original volume drops down by half.
Rest for 30 minutes. Let the greens sit and absorb the salt.
Squeeze the greens very well using your fists to drain and remove their water. Transfer to a new bowl.
Cook the onions and leek. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and add the red onion, leek, and white parts of the spring onions. Saute over medium heat then transfer to the bowl with the greens.
Add the herbs, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the green parts of the spring onions to the bowl as well. Mix well.

Make The Pie:

Prepare your working surface. Keep the all-purpose flour and the olive oil along with a pastry brush close by. To use on rolling and greasing the phyllo.
Preheat oven to 180°C / 356°F.
Grease a 13 x 9 inch (33 x 23 cm) pan with plenty of olive oil. About double the amount you would normally add.
Cut the dough. Shape the dough into a log and cut it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball. Dip your hands in some flour if the dough has softened too much. Rest dough balls for 10 minutes.
Roll the dough. Dust plenty of flour on your working surface. Place the dough ball on top. Dust the dough with flour as well and with a rolling pin roll it into a 4-inch (10 cm) disk. Take another dough ball and do exactly the same. Then dust plenty of flour on the surface of the small phyllo you just made, spread the flour a bit with your hands, and add the other small phyllo on top creating a double phyllo with flour in the middle.
Roll open the phyllo to a rectangle of about 18 x 14 inches (45 x 35 cm). To do this, flip the dough often by rolling it around the rolling pin. And always dust both the surface as well as the surface of the dough with flour so it won't stick. Once the phyllo is big enough, roll it around the rolling pin and unroll over the baking pan. There will be phyllo hanging out all around. Brush with olive oil.
Roll second phyllo. Repeat the same process once more to create another double phyllo for the bottom. Only this time a smaller one about 16 x 12 (40 x 30 cm) in size. Brush with olive oil.
Add ½ of the filling. Spread it evenly.
Add middle phyllo. Roll open a single phyllo by taking a dough ball and rolling it open into a big enough phyllo that fits inside the pan. If it's slightly bigger just ruffle it a little to fit. Brush it with olive oil.
Add the remaining ½ of the filling.
Close the pie. Make one double phyllo and a single phyllo for the pie top. Brush very well with olive oil in between and ruffle the phyllo on top slightly for extra crunch.
Make the pie edging. Trim excess phyllo, leaving only the very first and larger bottom phyllo to overlap and tuck in all around the edges and form a nice pie edging. Make sure you brush with oil as you go so it bakes properly. Brush also the top of the pie with olive oil.
Scar the pie. And divide it into 12 pieces. Do not cut all the way to the bottom.
Bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes on the lowest rack of your oven until the pie gets crunchy and warm brown on top.
Cool the pie by placing the pan on a cooling rack. Cut the pie at this point to help steam escape. Ideally, wait until it cools down to room temperature before serving.
Store at room temperature for up to 3 days. It won't spoil. The flavor gets even stronger the longer it sits.

Tips & Notes:

The dough when you knead it should feel soft and a little bit moist, slightly sticky. Not too much to the point it leaves fragments on your hands. You can add some extra flour to it if it's too sticky. But always in small amounts like one extra tablespoon at a time. Knead for 2 minutes to see the texture of the dough once it has incorporated the flour. And then decide if it's necessary to add more.
Always dust the surface you are working on, as well as the top of the dough with plenty of flour. This ensures the dough won't stick to the rolling pin or the bottom.
It's okay if it tears a bit. This happens to the best of us (even experienced phyllo-making grannies) so no worries. The next one will cover it. Otherwise, pull it together a bit to cover the hole once it's in the pan. No one will be able to tell!
Grease each layer with olive oil. In Greece, we brush a thick layer of olive oil on the phyllo. This helps the phyllo bake properly and adds lots of flavor. If you ever tried my grandma's Tiropita for example you'd be down with tummy aches with just one piece of it. That much oil she adds. And I'm sure she isn't using a brush to add the oil to the phyllo.