Spanakopita Greek Appetizer With Puff Pastry Recipes

SPANAKOPITA PUFFS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with vegetable cooking spray.
• Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it's tender. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes or until the liquid evaporates, stirring constantly. Remove the skillet from the heat. Beat 1 egg in a small bowl with a fork. Stir the beaten egg, cream cheese and garlic powder in the skillet.
• Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 9 x12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle into 4 (4 1/2 x 6-inch) rectangles. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet, making 8 rectangles in all. Beat the remaining egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Brush the edges of rectangles with the egg mixture.
• Spoon about 1/4 cup spinach mixture onto the center of each rectangle. Top each with 1 tablespoon feta cheese. Fold the pastry in half over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Brush the pastries with the egg mixture.
• Bake the pastries for 25 minutes or until they're golden brown. Let the pastries stand for 10 minutes.

PUFF PASTRY SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.
• Heat 2 tsp. of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add a batch of spinach and toss with tongs until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer with tongs to a colander set over a bowl, and let drain. Repeat with the remaining spinach (don't add more oil).
• Wipe the pan dry, reduce the heat to medium, and add the remaining 2 Tbs. oil. Add the onion and scallions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl, lightly beat the 3 whole eggs. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt, a generous grind of black pepper, and the nutmeg. Stir in the dill, parsley, and pecorino. Gently stir in the feta.
• Squeeze handfuls of the spinach to release as much liquid as possible; then pull apart the clumps with your fingers. Add the spinach and the onion mixture to the eggs and stir gently to combine.
• Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Without unfolding, cut one pastry sheet crosswise into thirds (refrigerate the other sheet). On a lightly floured work surface, unfold a third of the pastry, cut it into thirds, and roll each piece into a 4-inch square. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets. Repeat with the 2 remaining thirds to yield 9 squares. Spread about 1/2 cup of the filling over each square in an even layer, leaving a 3/4-inch border on all sides.
• In a small bowl, whisk the 2 egg yolks and 2 tsp. water. Lightly brush the egg wash over the pastry borders. Cut the other pastry sheet as above, but roll each piece into a 5-inch square. Place the squares over the filling and press the top and bottom edges of the pastries together to seal.
• Brush the top of each with the remaining egg wash and cut a small vent to allow steam to escape. Bake, swapping and rotating the baking sheets' positions halfway through baking, until a knife inserted into the filling comes out clean and the pastry is puffed and deep golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, cut each square in half on the diagonal, and serve.

SPANAKOPITA, GREEK APPETIZER WITH PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• In a pan over medium heat, sauté onions until fragrant then add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
• Add spinach, parsley, cilantro, dill, salt and pepper mixing them all well together. Cook for 3 minutes then remove from heat and let it cool down for 10 minutes.
• Stir in one beaten egg and feta cheese.
• Preheat oven to 400F. Beat remaining egg in a small bowl.
• Cut pastry sheet into 12 equal parts.
• Lightly brush the cups of a mini muffin tin with butter or oil, this step is optional just to make sure that the puff pastry will not be stuck.
• Press each puff square into the bottom of one muffin tin, fill with the spinach filling and fold pastry over brushing the top with the beaten egg.
• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Let it cool slightly before serving.

SPINACH PIE IN PUFF PASTRY (SPANAKOPITA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment (preferable) but you can use aluminum foil with a light spray of cooking oil.
• Melt butter and cook onions for a few minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
• Beat eggs in medium bowl. Add cooked onion, spinach, feta, parmesan, bread crumbs. Add salt, pepper, & nutmeg. Mix well with fork.
• Place one unfolded sheet of puff pastry on the parchment or sprayed aluminum foil. Spread the spinach mixture over the pastry, leaving a border of one inch all around the edges. Keep the spinach flat; do not pile high.
• Brush the edges with the egg wash made with the last egg. Cover with the second sheet of pastry that has been slightly flattened with a rolling pin to one inch bigger than the first sheet. (This ensures all the spinach will be covered). Press edges together with fingertips or fork, making sure mixture is sealed well. Brush just the top with egg wash, careful not to drip any down the sides. Cut a few slits in the top with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.
• Bake 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Can be served hot or at room temperature.

SPANAKOPITA PINWHEELS

Steps:

• In a small skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add oregano and garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add spinach; cook 3 minutes longer or until liquid is evaporated. Transfer to a large bowl; cool., Add feta cheese and eggs to spinach mixture; mix well. Unfold puff pastry. Spread each sheet with half the spinach mixture to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style. Cut each into twelve 3/4-in. slices. Place cut side down on greased baking sheets., Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

EASY PUFF PASTRY SPANAKOPITA

Steps:

• Thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze it thoroughly (Note 5).
• Puff pastry: If using frozen puff pastry, thaw and roll it according to the package instructions. If using refrigerated and already rolled pastry, remove it from the fridge about 10 minutes before baking.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 190°C. Brush the baking dish with olive oil.
• Beat the egg in a cup. Remove about ¼ of the egg and keep it separated for later; you will need it to brush the pastry before baking.
• Filling: Place squeezed spinach in a medium bowl. Add the egg (except for what you saved for brushing) finely chopped onions, grated garlic, crumbled feta, dried mint, chopped dill, lemon zest and juice, salt, and black pepper. Combine well and adjust the taste if necessary.
• Drape the dough sheet over the baking dish.
• Spread the feta and spinach filling inside the pastry, then fold in the corners and sides of the dough toward the center. The filling will not be fully covered in the middle. Trim a bit of the dough corners and sides to make the pie look nice.
• Egg wash: Mix the beaten egg you've saved with the milk and brush the pastry with the mixture. Sprinkle it with sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and deeply golden.
• Let sit for about 5 minutes before slicing.