Spanakopita

A friend of mine had a pot luck dinner party last night. I was excited to think of starters to bring and had an interest in figuring out how to use filo dough. So, I came up with the decision to attempt spanakopita. It was a fabulous success. Most of the mini pies (with the exception of two) were gone by the time I left the party. One of the guests even had four of them! Also, it wasn't as hard to do as I had expected. I'm sad I don't have any pictures to share, below is a photo from google (I swear mine looked just like these). I really need to get a new camera.

Here is what I did:

Spanakopita (from the Food Network)

What You Need

-1/3 cup olive oil
-2 pounds spinach, washed and drained
-1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped
-1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper
-1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
-2 eggs, lightly beaten
-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
-1 pound filo pastry sheets

What You Do

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan, add half of the spinach and saute until spinach wilts, tossing with tongs, about 2 minutes.

2. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly.

3. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. (My pan wasn't big enough to do it in two batches, I needed to do four.)

4. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil.

5. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper.

7. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).
8. Stir the feta and as much beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

10. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.
11. Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface.

12. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips.

13. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter.

14. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry.

15. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag.

16. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet. (The recipe instructs you to keep all items with filo covered with a towel to avoid becoming brittle, I didn't do this and it turned out fine).
17. Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

18. Serve hot.