Spanakopita with Tzatziki [Video]
Ingredients
- 1 pkg phyllo pastry dough
- 4 Tbsp butter melted
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb fresh baby spinach
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh oregano chopped
- 1 large shallot diced
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz feta cheese
- salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 2 Tbsp raisins
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- sesame seeds
- 1 lemon (zested, reserve juice for Tzatziki)
Tzatziki
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cucumber grated
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- salt & pepper
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint chopped
Instructions
Tzatziki (prepare in advance)
- Use a tea towel or your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can from the grated cucumber. Combine the cucumber with the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, dill, mint, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper; Mix well. Chill the Tzatziki in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Spanakopita
- Preheat a deep, heavy pot on medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot. Once the olive oil is shimmering, add the shallot and garlic and sauté them until the shallot is translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Season with a pinch of salt. Then, add the spinach a few handfuls at a time. Let the spinach wilt before adding more so as to not overfill the pot.
- After all the spinach has wilted, take the pot off the heat and transfer the spinach to a strainer placed over a bowl. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, press the spinach into the strainer to try and squeeze out as much water as possible. This is an important step to help ensure a non-soggy, crispy outer shell on the Spanakopita pastry.
- Once the spinach mixture is looking much drier, add the pine nuts, raisins, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, oregano, dill, and eggs. Mix well before adding the final filling ingredient – feta cheese – which should be broken up into ½-inch pieces and gently folded into the mixture.
- To assemble the Spanakopita, begin by layering the phyllo dough. With a pastry brush, add a little bit of melted butter onto a sheet of phyllo pastry before carefully placing another layer of phyllo on top. Repeat the process so that there are three layers of phyllo pastry dough. Using a knife, cut each 3-layered sheet into four strips.
- Spoon about ¼ cup of filling onto the bottom of each strip. Fold the pastry by starting at one of the bottom corners of the strip. Making a triangle shape, fold the corner over the filling to the opposite side of the strip. Repeat the fold across the strip in the other direction, and so on and so forth until you reach the end. Repeat this entire process, from the layering of the dough to the filling and folding, until there is no filling mixture remaining.
- Once the Spanakopita pastries are all filled and folded, add a little more butter onto each pastry triangle, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust takes on a beautiful golden hue. Allow the pastries to cool and enjoy them on their own or served with a side of Tzatziki sauce!
