Baked Spanakopita Pasta With Greens And Feta Recipes

BAKED SPANAKOPITA PASTA WITH GREENS AND FETA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
• In a 3-quart/9-by-13-inch baking dish, toss the chopped spinach, arugula, herbs and scallion greens with 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Squeeze the mixture with your hands to wilt, then set aside.
• Cook the pasta in the boiling water until 2 minutes shy of al dente; reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain pasta and set aside. Return the pot to the stove.
• Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat. Add the scallion whites, garlic and a pinch of salt, and sauté until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese and pasta water and stir until smooth. Stir in the wilted greens, half the mozzarella and half the feta until combined. Stir in the pasta until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
• Transfer the pasta to the baking dish, then top with remaining mozzarella and feta. Bake until the sauce has thickened and bubbly and the top has browned in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. If you like a crisper top, broil for a few minutes.

BAKED FETA PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Toss the cherry tomatoes and olive oil with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of black pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Transfer to a 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish, place the feta in the center of the tomatoes and season with a pinch of black pepper. Bake until the tomatoes have burst and the feta has softened, about 30 minutes. Raise the heat to 450 degrees F and continue to cook until the tomatoes and feta are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 13 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then thoroughly drain the pasta.
• As soon as the tomatoes and feta come out of the oven, stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using). Use the back of a spoon to smash the tomatoes and feta into a smooth and creamy sauce (it's okay if some of the oil isn't fully integrated). Add the pasta and half the basil and toss until evenly coated. If the sauce is too thick, stir in some pasta water a couple tablespoons at a time. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve topped with the remaining basil and a pinch of sea salt.

SPRING GREENS SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Bring a large pan of water to the boil, tip in the greens and cook for 1 min, then drain and leave in the colander to cool a little.
• Melt 1 tbsp butter with the oil in a large pan. Add the leeks and a big pinch of salt, then stir over a medium heat until softened, about 8 mins. Add the garlic and cook for another min, then remove from the heat, tip into a large bowl and leave to cool.
• Squeeze as much water out of the greens as you can; if you don't mind getting a tea towel dirty, the best way to do this is to pile them onto the clean towel, gather the corners and squeeze. Add the greens to the pan with the leeks, then stir in the herbs, nutmeg, cheeses, eggs, zest and seasoning. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• You'll need a 23cm springform cake tin to assemble the tart in. Melt the remaining butter in a pan or the microwave and use some of it to grease the tin. Now you're ready to work with the filo. Have a clean tea towel to hand to keep the sheets covered as you work (it can dry out very quickly). Layer the sheets of filo in the tin, brushing each one really well with butter and leaving plenty of pastry hanging over the edge, to close the top with once filled. Scatter the sesame seeds between each layer of pastry as you go. Save a few sheets for the top. Once the tin is lined, fill with the greens mixture. Scrunch a few more sheets of buttery pastry on top and fold in the overhanging sheets to close the tart. Scatter any remaining sesame seeds on top and drizzle over the remaining butter.
• Bake for 40-45 mins until deep golden brown (cover with foil if it starts to brown too much). Remove from the tin as soon as you can to help keep the pastry crisp. Serve warm or cold.

SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, scallions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes.
• In batches, stir in spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Strain spinach mixture through a sieve, pressing out excess liquid to prevent a soggy crust. Transfer to a large bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs, feta, Parmesan and parsley and stir until combined.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch pan (2 inches deep) with butter. Lay one half sheet of phyllo dough in baking dish. Using a pastry brush, brush dough with butter. Repeat 7 more times to form crust. Spread spinach mixture evenly over crust. Brush one half sheet of phyllo dough with butter and lay on top of filling, butter side up. Repeat with remaining 7 sheets of dough. Using a serrated knife, lightly score top layer of dough into squares (this will make it easier to cut once baked). Bake until crust is lightly golden and filling is heated through, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm.

SPANAKOPITA (SPINACH AND FETA PIE)

Steps:

• Combine butter and olive oil in large heavy pan and fry onion and garlic until soft.
• Wash and drain spinach and remove thick stalks, then blanch for a minute or two in boiling water.
• Add blanched spinach to onion and garlic mix and cook for further 5 minutes or so.
• Spinach should be deep green colour and stalks should be tender.
• Add eggs (I use no eggs, but the traditional receipe calls for them) and dill.
• Crumble feta into pan and stir well for a minute or two.
• Eggs should be cooked by then.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Butter baking pan.
• If using phyllo, separate sheets, and brush each sheet individually with melted butter.
• Use 15-20 sheets, and overlap them, making sure that sheets hang well over the edge of the pan.
• If using short-crust or puff pastry, roll out a sheet big enough to line pan with plenty hanging outside.
• If making bite-sized pies cut squares approximately 2 1/12" square.
• Drain spinach mixture by pressing lightly and allowing liquid to drain into a cup or bowl.
• The filling should not be too wet or the pastry gets mushy.
• It should also not be too dry or the pie is not juicy enough.
• Put filling into pastry and bring edges up to enclose filling.
• (Fill each bite-size square with a spoonfull or so, fold over pastry into a triangle).
• Seal by crimping, tucking in, or any means that work.
• Score the top lightly, not enough to reach filling, and brush with egg.
• Bake in moderate oven until pastry is golden and done.
• Good hot or cold.