Spanakotiropita (Spinach and Cheese Pie)

Posted for ZWT#6 2010

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 10
• Yields: 10

Ingredients

• 1  kg spinach
• 3 -4  tablespoons  chopped fresh fennel
• 1  large onion, finely sliced
• 300  gr. white feta cheese
• 3  eggs, slightly beaten
• 500  gr. fyllo  pastry dough (The fyllo pastry is widely available ready-made)
• 4  tablespoons olive oil
•  salt and pepper
• 110  gr. melted butter
• 5  tablespoons  finely chopped parsley

Directions

1. Clean and rinse the spinach, drain well, squeezing it gently by hand.
2. Sautee the onion in the olive oil.
3. Shred the spinach roughly and add it to the onion.
4. Stir over medium heat to get it all coated in the olive oil. Do not add any water. Cover and cook gently for 5-6 minutes.
5. Add salt, pepper, parsley and fennel and keep aside to cool down a little.
6. Crumble the feta cheese into the beaten eggs.
7. If the spinach mixture when cooled has produced a lot of liquid, drain it.
8. before adding to the cheese and egg mixture.Season and mix well.
9. Do not add any more salt as feta is quite salty.
10. Unfold the roll of pastry onto a flat surface, place the container (it should be a metal oven dish with approximate size 39x28x8 cm) you are going.
11. to use on top of this and measure it roughly.
12. Keep in mind that fyllo shrinks once cooked so be generous with cutting away with a knife the leftover strip, if there is one.
13. Oil the base and the side of the container with melted butter.
14. Coat the uppermost sheet of pastry and spread it carefully on the bottom of.
15. the container trying to avoid creasing. Oil the next sheet of pastry and spread it on the top of the previous.
16. Place in the same fashion 8 layers fyllo on the bottom of the container and spread on the filling. Cover the filling with 8 layers of oiled fyllo without pressing it down.
17. Oil the top layer well and cut only the top layers into diamond or square.
18. shapes with a small sharp knife.
19. Be careful not to cut the bottom layers of pastry.
20. Cook in a preheated oven at 190 grades C for 40 minutes until the pastry.
21. puffs up and the top becomes golden and crisp.
22. When cooked, let it stand for 10 minutes and then cut the pre-shaped pieces.
23. all the way down to the bottom of the tin, take them out and place them on.
24. a flat platter.