Spanakopita Bites Recipes

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:

• 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.

SOUTHWEST SPANAKOPITA BITES

Steps:

• In a small skillet, saute red pepper and onion in oil until tender. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in 1/2 cup spinach (save the rest for another use). Stir in the cheese, corn, beans, jalapeno, cumin, chili powder and salt., Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface with a short end facing you. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Spray sheet with butter-flavored spray; cut into three 14x3-in. strips. , Place a scant tablespoon of filling on lower corner of each strip. Fold dough over filling, forming a triangle. Fold triangle up, then over, forming another triangle. Continue folding, like a flag, until you come to the end of the strip. , Spritz end of dough with spray and press onto triangle to seal. Turn triangle and spritz top with spray. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling. , Place triangles on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, mash avocado with the mayonnaise, sour cream and vinegar. Serve with warm appetizers.

SPANAKOPITA BITES: SPINACH AND FETA CHEESE APPETIZERS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Wash and drain the chopped spinach very well. If using frozen spinach, thaw completely and squeeze out excess water very well. Spinach should be quite dry.
• Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan or dutch oven. Sauté the onions and green onions until tender. Add the spinach, parsley, and dill and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is wilted and heated through. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook the spinach mixture until the excess moisture evaporates. You want it to be on the dry side. Remove from heat and set the spinach aside to cool.
• Once the spinach has cooled, add the crumbled feta, eggs, and ricotta cheese, and mix until combined.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly brush the insides of the frozen phyllo shells with olive oil and fill with spinach mixture until approximately 3/4 full.
• Bake the filled shells on a baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is cooked through. Serve immediately.

SPANAKOPITA BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, mix egg, spinach and cheeses. Brush a 15x10x1-in. baking pan with some of the butter., Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared pan; brush with butter. Layer with 7 additional phyllo sheets, brushing each layer. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.) Spread top with spinach mixture. Top with remaining phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with butter., Freeze, covered, 30 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1-in. squares. Bake 35-45 minutes or until golden brown. Refrigerate leftovers.

SOFIA'S SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute the garlic, leeks and shallots until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and scallions and cover the pot for a few minutes until spinach has wilted significantly. Uncover and simmer on medium-low heat to allow the liquids to evaporate (be sure not to let spinach mixture to burn). When the majority of the liquids have evaporated, transfer to a large bowl. Mix the feta, ricotta, kefalotiri, dill, mint, pepper, nutmeg and eggs in a large bowl. Gently fold the cheese mixture into the cooled spinach mixture.
• Brush a 15-by-10-inch rectangular pan with olive oil. Gently place one sheet of number-10 phyllo in the bottom of the pan and brush with olive oil, making sure to coat well. Repeat this step eight times. This creates a nice strong base for serving.
• Pour in the spinach filling. Use the entire box of number-7 phyllo on top of the spinach, making sure to coat each layer of dough very well with olive oil. Also make sure to tuck in edges of the phyllo around the pan to make it look pretty. Score the pie in appropriate portion sizes. Brush the top with the beaten eggs; this gives it the beautiful golden brown color that is achieved after approximately 1 hour of baking.

SPANAKOPITA EGG BITES

Steps:

• Place spinach and water in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover bowl with large dinner plate. Microwave on high power until spinach is wilted and decreased in volume by half, about 4 minutes. Using potholders, remove bowl from microwave and keep covered, 1 minute. Carefully remove plate and transfer spinach to colander set in sink. Using back of rubber spatula, gently press spinach against colander to release excess liquid. Transfer spinach to cutting board and chop finely. Transfer spinach to clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove excess water. Place drained spinach in large bowl.
• Add remaining filling ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. (Filling can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator.) Grease 24 cup mini muffin pan. Carefully fill each mini-muffin cup with filling. You will have just enough filling to fill all the cups.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Check at 25 minutes with toothpick. If it comes out clean then the bites are finished.
• Remove each bite from the muffin tin using a small spoon and cool on a cooling rack. Bites can be frozen and reheated later.