Spanakopita

Our first use of phyllo dough in class was for these appetizer sized spanakopita triangles. The filling was made first by cooking small dice onions in butter until translucent. Then fresh spinach was added until wilted.

Mise en place

Adding fresh spinach to cooked onions

Wilted spinach ready to cool

We placed the filling in the fridge to cool, then strained the water out.

Strained mixture

We then added crumbled feta and egg.

Ready to fill

The filling was placed in the fridge while we got the phyllo dough ready. We brushed melted butter onto 3 sheets of dough, layered them on top of each other, then cut them into 8 rows.

Melting the butter

Buttered phyllo dough cut into 8 rows

The filling was placed in the corner of a row, then folded into triangles. Melted butter sealed the edges.

Ready for the oven

The triangles were placed in a 375 F oven for approx 10 minutes.

Ready to plate

Final Plating

Prep: We worked very quickly to make sure the phyllo dough did not dry out. Folding the dough into triangles was no problem, but we had to monitor the heat very carefully in the oven since there were "hot spots" in certain areas. As a result we had to turn the sheet pan halfway through cooking to ensure even baking.

Presentation: I placed the triangles in a pinwheel fashion and added Italian parsley in the center for garnish.

Taste: I liked this milder version of spanakopita. When I've had this in restaurants it can be overly acidic tasting or salty but I think the flavors were more balanced in this recipe.The butter helped to brown the layers of the flaky dough and it has a nice crispy outer portion with tender spinach and feta.

Overall: I think this dish was very successful and flavorful. In general, you can use the phyllo dough and the same triangle shape with other fillings for different types of appetizers. For instance, you could use cooked apples for an apple strudel.