Traditional Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour & 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 20 minutes
Servings: 18 pieces

Get ready to dive into the ultimate traditional spinach pie recipe! Imagine crispy homemade phyllo, a delightful blend of sweet and herby fresh spinach filling, all drizzled with generous amounts of extra virgin olive oil. Everything is crafted from scratch, including the phyllo, which packs way more flavor than anything you’d find in the store. And let’s not forget the fresh spinach filling, loaded with onions and vibrant herbs.

Ingredients:

For The Spinach pie Filling:

750 grams fresh spinach chopped
1½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
150 grams red onion finely chopped
90 grams (3-4) Spring onions greens and white parts separated and finely chopped
50 grams leek finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil & extra splash for sauteing
3 tablespoons dill or fennel greens minced
5-6 spearmint leaves (use only 2-3 if using peppermint)
freshly ground pepper
Optional: 300 grams ripened feta cheese crumbled

For The Phyllo Dough:

450 grams all-purpose flour
⅔ tablespoon salt
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
250 ml water

To Roll The Phyllo:

90 grams all-purpose flour
90 grams cornstarch
To Brush The Phyllo + The Pan:
200 ml extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Prepare The Spinach:

Add the spinach and coarse sea salt to a large bowl.
Rub and massage the spinach until it decreases by half in volume. Set aside.

Make The Phyllo Dough:

Combine flour, salt, vinegar, and olive oil in a bowl. Gradually add the water until you have a soft bread-like dough.
Knead for 5 minutes. Then shape into a round ball.
Cover the bowl with a dampened tea towel and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare The Filling:

Heat a good splash of olive oil in a frying pan over moderate heat.
Saute onion, leek, and white parts of the spring onions until soft and translucent.
Add the green parts of the spring onion and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Squeeze the spinach. Take a handful of the spinach and squeeze it in your fists to remove as much of its water as possible. Add the squeezed spinach to a large bowl.
Add the sauteed onions and leeks, dill, spearmint, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, and freshly ground pepper. Stir to combine.
If using feta cheese, mix it in as well at this point.

Roll The Phyllo:

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
Combine 90 grams of flour with 90 grams of cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.
Place the dough on a clean working surface (ideally a wooden one). Knead and shape into a cord.
Cut the dough into 10 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball.
Dust the working surface with the flour and cornstarch mixture (whenever I mention dust with flour, it's this mixture we're using).
Take a dough ball, place it on the working surface, and dust it with flour. With a rolling pin, roll open into a 10 cm round disk.
Repeat this process for all the dough balls. Then place them on a floured pan with flour in between them so they won't stick together. Cover the pan with the dampened tea towel and rest for 10 minutes.
Take one small phyllo and roll it open big enough to cover the bottom and walls of a 31 cm (12-inch) round pan.
How to roll: To roll the phyllo, always dust both the surface and the top of the dough with flour. Otherwise, the dough will be sticking. Roll towards every direction and flip the dough now and then. To do this roll it around the rolling pin and unroll it on its other side.
Brush the pan generously with extra virgin olive oil.
Roll the phyllo around the rolling pin and then unroll it over the pan.
Brush with oil and then add two more phyllo the same way. Brushing each layer generously with oil.
Add ⅓ of the filling.
Roll another phyllo, this time just big enough to fit inside the pan. Brush with oil.
Add ⅔ of the filling.
Add another phyllo just like the last one.
Add the remaining filling.
Make 5 more phyllo for the top like 3 phyllo at the bottom, 2 in between, 5 on top =10 in total.
Ruffle the top 5 phyllo as you add them to the pan to give the pie a crispier texture.
Overlap the edges of the bottom phyllo over the top to create a nice pie edging. If there's excess phyllo, trim it with a knife.
Cut and divide the pie into 16 pieces without cutting the bottom phyllo.
Bake at a mid-low rack for about an hour or an hour and 10 minutes until honey brown on top and very crispy.
Rest out of the oven for at least 30 minutes. Then cut and enjoy!

Tips & Notes:

Kneading. The more you knead the dough, the stretchier it will become. Therefore, easier to roll open into a phyllo.
Resting time is important because it allows time for gluten to develop, which makes the dough elastic and stretchy. And it is what we need when making phyllo. It will be less likely to tear this way.
Cover. Don't let the dough dry. Always cover with plastic wrap or with a dampened tea towel.
If you make the dough the day before and refrigerate overnight, it will be super stretchy and easy to roll.
Make Ahead: You can make both the dough and the filling a day ahead, and roll the phyllo and assemble the pie on the next day. The dough keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Also, the filling can be made and then frozen for later use. Furthermore, you can make the Spinach pie and place it in the freezer to bake it within 1-2 months.
Storage: Leftover spinach pie will keep well in a sealed container stored in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. It’s best reheated In the oven until warmed through. Unfortunately it will lose its initial flakiness but will still be delicious.