Spanakopita - Greek Spinach Pie

8-10 sheets of phyllo pastry dough
1 lb spinach, or baby spinach, washed
8 oz feta cheese
8 green onions
1/4 cup dill (*)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves (*) (optional)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

(*) approximate amount

Time to make: 1 hr work plus 45 minutes for baking plus 15 minutes cool down.

I use a 9x13 rectangular pyrex pie dish for baking, and it results in a pie about 1 inch thick. If using a smaller pie dish, the pie will be thicker and the baking time should be increased proportionally.

Blanch the spinach in a large pot with a splash of water, covered, over low heat. Should take 5 minutes.Drain them and chop them coarsely. You can save the green broth to use in other dishes.


Chop the green onions and the herbs finely. Put them in a mixing bowl.

Crumble the feta cheese and add it to the bowl. One can use some mozzarella, or some ricotta, or both, to substitute some of the feta. Increase the salt if doing so, as feta is generally saltier than other fresh cheeses.

Add the eggs and the spinach to the bowl, and mix it all well together.

This is a good time to turn on the oven and set to 350 degrees F.

Put the butter in a ramekin and microwave it until melted. Add the olive oil to the same ramekin and mix it well with a pastry brush.

Lightly grease the bottom of the pie dish with butter. Open the phyllo dough box and line the bottom of the pie with one sheet. Brush the sheet, then cover it with another sheet. Lay the sheets so their edges are hanging over the sides of the dish.Repeat until you have 4 or 5 well greased sheets lining the pie dish.

Pour the spinach mix and spread it out evenly. Grate some Parmesan cheese on top. Add salt and pepper if you haven't done so already.

Lay more dough sheets, brushing each one with the butter/oil mixture, until you have a couple of layers on top. Fold in the edges of the bottom sheets, then add another couple layers on top, and try to tuck it all in in a somewhat orderly fashion.

Place it in the middle rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until the top and the edges turn golden.