Spanako Pasta Recipes

SPANAKO-PASTA

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened., Add the spinach, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, lemon juice, dill, nutmeg, salt and cayenne; heat through. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup liquid. Toss pasta with spinach mixture, adding some of the reserved pasta liquid if needed. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

LIGHTER SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Pack the spinach into a large heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over and press the spinach down with a wooden spoon. Leave for 1 min to wilt, stirring a couple of times so all the leaves are submerged. Tip into a large colander and place under running cold water to cool quickly. Drain well - squeeze out any excess water by pressing the spinach down with the wooden spoon, then squeezing with your hands. Using kitchen paper, pat the spinach dry into a compact shape, lay it on a board and roughly chop, then set aside.
• Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the shallot, spring onions and garlic, and fry over a high-ish heat for 3-4 mins, stirring often, until softened and just starting to brown. Lower the heat, tip in the spinach and stir for 1 min only to finish drying. Season with pepper and a good pinch of nutmeg, and leave to cool.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and put a baking sheet in to heat up. In a bowl, stir the ricotta into the beaten egg and mix in the 2 tbsp dill, the chives and mint. Season with pepper and a pinch of salt.
• Lightly oil a 20cm square x 4cm deep cake tin. Mix the remaining oil with the 1 rounded tsp dill. Lay the filo pastry sheets on a large board. Brush the top one with a little of the dill oil, then carefully lower it into the tin to line the base and 2 of the sides, with an overhang on both sides. The pastry doesn't have to fit in smoothly - a few wrinkles and folds in it are fine. Brush a bit more oil over the second pastry sheet and this time lay it down in the tin the other way round, so it drapes over and lines the base and the other 2 sides. The tin should now be completely covered, with a pastry overhang all round. Repeat the criss-cross layering with 2 more oiled filo sheets.
• Stir the ricotta mixture into the spinach, then crumble in the feta. Lightly stir it in so you leave a few chunky pieces. Spoon this filling into the lined tin and level it. Bring the pastry sides up and over the filling, then brush a little oil over them. Brush the remainder of the oil over the last filo sheet on the board. Cut the sheet in half widthways and lay one half over at a time, in big folds, to cover the filling and give you a pastry topping.
• Place the tin on the heated baking sheet and bake for 25-30 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden. Leave to cool for 10-15 mins. Remove the tin and transfer to a serving plate. If your tin doesn't have a loose bottom, carefully upturn it onto a flat board, then flip it over onto the serving plate. Serve warm or cold with minted yogurt dip and a tomato, cucumber & pepper salad (see below), if you like.

SPANAKOPITA (GREEK SPINACH PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.

SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook spinach, stirring, until wilted and tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool, about 10 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in feta, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Melt remaining 1 stick butter in a small saucepan, then cool.
• Cover phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel.
• Take 1 phyllo sheet from stack and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with another phyllo sheet and brush with more butter. Cut buttered phyllo stack crosswise into 6 (roughly 12- by 2 3/4-inch) strips.
• Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near 1 corner of a strip on end nearest you, then fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Put triangle, seam side down, on a large baking sheet and brush top with butter. Make more triangles in same manner, using all of phyllo.
• Bake triangles in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.

SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place spinach in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender, about 2 to 6 minutes. Drain and press to remove all water. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender, but do not brown. Stir in cooked spinach and continue cooking until all moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• In a large bowl combine feta cheese, Swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley and cinnamon. Stir in spinach and onion mixture.
• Brush the bottom of a 17x11 inch jelly roll pan with butter. Place 1 sheet of dough in the bottom of the pan; brush with butter. Continue to layer 13 more sheets of dough, brushing every other sheet with butter. Spread spinach and cheese mixture over dough. Continue layering with remaining dough, brushing every other sheet with butter. Tuck edges of dough under. Brush top sheet with butter and, using a sharp knife, score top layer into diamonds.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

EASY SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Cook the onions in a saute pan with 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil until soft and translucent (4 minute on medium).
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about another 2 min.).
• Combine onions, garlic, spinach, salt and pepper, hot sauce, egg, feta, Parmesan, and cottage cheeses together in a mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons each of melted butter and olive oil.
• Grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
• Place one sheet of phyllo on the bottom of the dish brush with the butter mixture.
• Top with another sheet of phyllo dough and brush with butter mixture.
• Repeat this process until you have a total of seven sheets of phyllo dough.
• Spread all of the spinach mixture over the top of the last layer of dough.
• Then repeat the process of layering the remaining Place one sheet of phyllo over the spinach mixture and paint it with the oil mixture.
• Repeat with the remaining seven sheets of dough, brushing each new layer with the butter mixture, making sure to butter the top layer.
• Bake at 375°F until the top is golden brown (about 45 minutes).
• Cut spanakopita to make little triangles.

SPANAKOPITA (SPINACH TRIANGLES OR PIE)

Steps:

• 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. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).
• Stir the feta and as much beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.
• Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.
• Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Serve hot. (These may be frozen before baking, layering waxed paper between layers of triangles to keep them from sticking. Bake frozen triangles an extra 10 minutes.)

SPANAKOPIZZA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Stretch out your dough on to a pizza stone or into a pizza pan. Pierce the dough with a fork, drizzle the dough with a touch of extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle it with oregano. Bake dough 10 minutes.
• While the pizza dough bakes, heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil (1 turn of the pan) in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add butter to the warm oil, then the chicken or turkey. Lightly brown the meat 3 to 4 minutes, then add the chopped red onion, garlic and grill seasoning and cook 5 minutes more. Wring the defrosted spinach dry by twisting it in a clean kitchen towel over your sink. Add it to the meat, separating it with your fingers. Add in feta crumbles.
• Once the pizza has cooked 10 minutes, remove dough and top evenly with meat and spinach mixture. Cover the pizza with shredded mozzarella or provolone, roasted peppers and olives. Bake pizza another 13 to 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is crisp.
• Remove pizza from oven, top with chopped parsley or arugula, cucumbers and hot peppers and serve.