Spanakopita triangles
Spinach and Cheese filling in crunchy, buttery phyllo pastry - a Greek inspiration!
Did you know that there are those among us who don't like spinach? Hard to believe, I know. But so it is. Perhaps that may be contributed to not enough watching Popeye cartoons as a child, or being forced to eat their canned spinach before leaving the table, or perhaps a salad where the spinach used had not been cleaned properly (thank heavens grocery stores do that for us now!) But if you might not be a spinach enthusiast, this recipe could possibly win you over....thus another victory for iron!
One of the appetizers served many, many years ago at my wedding was a meat filled phyllo triangle - we worked as a family filling and perfecting the flag fold to prepare them - my boy scout brother came in handy with the flag fold. The phyllo pastry creates the perfect, buttery, crunchy casing for any number of fillings. I have made them with Arab spiced meat studded with pine nuts, a chicken and mushroom cream cheese filling, potato India inspired fillings - your creativity is the limit. But the Greeks hit upon this favorite, original filling and it is to them we owe our thanks.
Usually served as more of a pie or casserole cut into squares, Spanakopita which translates as "Spinach pie", this appetizer version is a neat, just the right amount of well-complementing ingredients to create a winning first bite! An elegant beginning to Christmas parties, teas, showers or buffets, but don't tell your persnickety friends what is in them until after they taste them. Who knows but what you may convert someone over to Popeyes team!
spanakopita - spinach and cheese triangles
Spinach - frozen, large bag
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup chopped green onion, entire onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves finely minced garlic
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup diced artichokes hearts (optional)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Mizithra cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella or provolone cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta or cottage cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
dash of cayenne pepper
1 package phyllo pastry, thawed and at room
temperature
1 cup melted butter
-Microwave spinach in open bag in microwave for 3 minutes. Rinse in colander under cold running water. Let drain for 5 minutes, then squeeze and press spinach against sides of colander, until as much water as possible is extracted. Place spinach on chopping board and chop.
-Saute onion in olive oil in large skillet until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the green onion and continue to saute another 5 minutes. Add spinach and garlic to skillet and stir an additional 5 minutes until spinach is quite dry (do not allow to brown.) Remove from heat, place in a large mixing bowl and allow to cool at least 10 minutes.
-Stir into spinach mixture, nutmeg, cayenne, eggs, mozzarella, parmesan and cottage cheeses, and artichoke hearts (optional) until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
-Lay stack (1 package) of phyllo sheets out on working surface horizontally. With a pair of scissors and with the lining paper underneath, cut stack of sheets in 3 inch wide strips, to create 4 strips from the stack.
-Place one strip in front of you and cover the remaining 3 strips with plastic wrap. Separate the layers of phyllo into strips of 2 layers on your work surface, 5 -6 at a time. With a pastry brush, brush each with melted butter and place about 1 tablespoon of spinach filling on the bottom end facing you.
-Working from the bottom end fold phyllo over the filling to create a triangle shape, with the bottom edge of the phyllo strip, against the long edge of the strip. Then roll the triangle again as if folding a flag, until you have reached the top and the spinach is completely enfolded in the phyllo.
-Place the triangle on a well-buttered baking sheet and immediately brush the top of each triangle with melted butter to completely cover any exposed surface of pastry. Use the butter to secure extra ends of phyllo pastry into place. Repeat process with each 2 layer strip of dough. Then open the other package of phyllo dough and repeat the process.
-Bake the triangles in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until golden and puffy. Serve warm. Makes about 48 triangles.
Brush strips of pastry with butter and place tablespoon of filling at one end.
Fold dough over filling to create a triangle.
Fold again in the fashion of a "flag fold" to keep the triangle shape.
Continue folding in the same manner until you reach the top. Fold any remaining dough strip over onto the other side of the triangle.
Brush all exposed surfaces with melted butter pushing down edges to create a neat triangle. Place triangles on buttered baking sheet.
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**If you have never worked with phyllo pastry here are a couple of hints:
-Give yourself plenty of time to work with it -don't rush it. -Be sure dough is completely thawed in its packaging before using.
-Originally, bakers brushed every layer with butter, which you can do, but I brush every two layers which works just as well and uses less butter.
-Sometimes the dough you purchase will be stuck in places and will not easily separate and pull off in complete sheets. Don't worry - do the best you can, flip it over and try the other side and remember, you can patch and leave holes as long as the top layer of whatever you are making is nice and smooth. Sometimes you will have to use 3 layers instead of 2 because you can't separate them - that's okay. Brushing with butter mends a host of cracks and splits.
**Phyllo pastry which originated in Mediterranean countries, dries out very quickly when exposed to air. The only ingredients are water and flour. Be sure to keep sections of pastry you are not working with covered with a towel or plastic wrap until you can get to them. Brushing all exposed surfaces with melted butter before baking is essential to create a crunchy, buttery product.
**Can you believe that up until the invention of modern machinery phyllo dough was made by hand by women who laboriously stretched the dough by rolling and stretching the dough over the backs of their hands, on a large table, to paper thinness!
**When I first started working with phyllo pastry it was very hard to find in the U.S. and I usually had to buy it in International markets, which were also hard to find. When it finally did appear in the frozen section of most grocery stores, since it was infrequently bought, I would always pull one from the back as it would be fresher, not having sat in the freezer so long.
