Spanakopita

Spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie. It is usually seen being passed around at wedding as tiny hors d'oeuvers. I found a recipe for dinner Spanakopita on one my new favorite cooking blogs, Branny Boils Over. I, of course, took that recipe and modified it to make it dairy-free and higher in protein.

I think it turned out awesome. Vince on the other hand, didn't like it. He said the flavor was good but he didn't like the flaky pastry shell. He's "not a flaky crust kind of guy". Oh well, I guess I can't win them all with him. I'm still making a batch to put in the freezer. I can take them out and heat them up for a quick, yummy lunch.

This recipe does call for the use of phyllo dough. I know that can be intimidating but it really is easy to use. I'll walk you through it. Don't panic, it will be ok.

Spanakopita

From Branny Boils Over

Ingredients

14 Sheets of Phyllo Dough (about 1/4 of a package)
1 10oz Box of Frozen Spinach, Thawed and Drained
4oz Soft Tofu
2oz Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
2 Tablespoons Parmesan Flavor Veggie Shreds
1/2 Medium Yellow Onion, Diced
1.5 Tablespoons Pine Nuts
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg White
1.5 Tablespoons Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
4 Tablespoons Margarine, Melted

Directions

1. In a skillet, fry the onion until caramelized (about 3 minutes).
2. Briefly add the spinach to the skillet, just long enough to steam off any excess moisture. You want it to be completely dry.
3. In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients, except for the margarine and the phyllo dough.
4. Set the filling aside.
5. Open the package of phyllo dough and roll out the sheets.
6. Place a damp paper towel over the sheets to keep them from drying out while you work.
7. Carefully take one sheet and lay it out flat.
8. With a pastry brush, brush the sheet with melted margarine.
9. Carefully lay a second phyllo sheet on top of the first.
10. Brush the second sheet with melted margarine.
11. Lay a third phyllo sheet on the stack.
12. Brush the third sheet with margarine.
13. Lay a fourth sheet on the stack.
14. Do not brush the top of the fourth sheet.
15. Cut the stack of phyllo sheets in half, lengthwise.You will now have two long rectangles of phyllo dough.
16. Make 4 more long rectangles of dough in this way.
17. For the last (7th) rectangle, take one sheet of dough and brush margarine on half of it (lengthwise).
18. Fold the sheet over itself lengthwise.
19. Brush margarine on the top of the sheet.
20. Place another sheet on top.
21. Brush margarine on half of this sheet.
22. Fold the second sheet over itself. You will now have one long rectangle of dough.

Assembly

1. Place 1/3 cup of filling onto one end of one of the rectangles.
2. Take the corner of the rectangle, with the filling, and fold it towards the edge of the dough.
3. Continue folding the dough until you have a large triangle.
4. Place the triangle on a cookie sheet.
5. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake the Spanakopitas in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes. You want them to be golden brown and flaky.

Yields: 7 servings

These are pretty quick to make and are very filling. The best part is that they are each under 200 calories! The stats below are for each pastry triangle. You could also add in some Fiber One powder to up the fiber, it is pretty low.