SPANAKOPITA

Ingredients:

1/5 cup of rice
1/2 cup of water

2 lb. fresh spinach
1/2 cup of chopped, fresh, mint
1/2 cup of chopped, fresh, parsley
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1 cup of feta cheese, crumbled

3/4 cup of olive oil plus 3/4 cup for phyllo dough
2 tbs. soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste
phyllo dough

Directions:
1. Wash the spinach thoroughly, remove the stems & chop coarsely.

2. Fill a small pot with water and rice. Cover and place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to simmer and cook until almost all the water is absorbed, about 4 minutes. remove from heat and let cool while you prepare the rest of the filling.

3. In a very large bowl, mix together spinach, mint, parsley, olive oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper, pine nuts, feta cheese & rice. Stir to combine. I like to use tongs for this step.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with olive oil. Lay one half sheet of phyllo dough in the bottom of the baking dish, brush the phyllo dough with olive oil. Add another half sheet of phyllo dough. Repeat process until you have 8 sheets total.

5. Fill the baking dish with the all of the spinach filling. Top with a half sheet of phyllo dough and brush the phyllo dough with olive oil. Repeat process until you have 8 sheets total.

6. Go ahead and cut the spanakopita into 3 inch squares before you bake it. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes:

recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart

This recipe is very easy once you get the hang of dealing with phyllo dough, but please try it because it's not nearly as intimidating as it looks. This recipe does take quite a while to make. I use fresh unwashed spinach from the farmer's market and it takes me about an hour to get the spinach washed and chopped. You can, however, use the triple washed de-stemmed spinach from the grocery store and save yourself a lot of time.

This is a great make ahead recipe for traveling. I make it the night before I leave and just pop it back in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until it crisps back up.

Vegan swap outs: This recipe can easily be made without the feta cheese and without loosing any flavor.

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