Skillet Spanakopita

Skillet spanakopita is a smaller, quicker variation of this classic Greek dish. It's full of flavour and makes a great weeknight dinner too.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: Easy, Entertaining

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 50

Servings: people

Calories: 2566kcal

Author: Gabby Campbell

Equipment

1 25cm / 10 inch frying pan

Ingredients

3 packets frozen spinach, thawed in the fridge overnight (750g / 1.6 pounds)
2 eggs
1 large leek thinly sliced
250 g Greek feta (1/2 a pound)
⅓ cup grated parmesan
5 cloves garlic minced
1 cup parsley finely chopped
½ cup dill finely chopped
16 Filo sheets, thawed (see note 1 below) (about 3/4 of a packet)
½ cup olive oil
¼ - ½ tsp salt (see note 2)
Pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF.
Place the defrosted spinach into a clean tea towel, and bring the ends up together to enclose it. Squeeze the towel over the sink or a bowl to get out as much liquid from the spinach as possible. Discard the liquid and set the spinach aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large frying pan/skillet (mine was 25cm / 10 inches) and warm over medium heat. Add the leek and garlic and pan-fry until softened. About 5-7 minutes. If at anytime the leek sticks to the pan just add a touch more oil or a little water.
Add the spinach, plus salt, and pepper. Break up the clumps of spinach with a wooden spoon and stir occasionally to heat through. Again if the pan seems a bit dry just add a touch more oil or a little water. About 10 minutes. You don't want a tonne of liquid left in the pan when you're done though. Remove the frying pan from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat with a fork to combine. Now add in the parsley, dill, parmesan, nutmeg., cooked leek and spinach then toss to combine.
Crumble in the feta and toss through. Give the mix a taste and adjust the seasoning if you think it needs more salt and pepper. Set aside.
Unroll the filo pastry and cover it with a damp tea towel so it doesn't dry out. Put the frying pan down on the bench in front of you and brush the inside liberally with olive oil. Lay one sheet of filo into the pan going left to right, pushing down the base and sides to get out as many air bubbles as possible. The edges will be overhanging and that's fine. Brush this sheet with olive oil.
Add another sheet of filo on top but this time lay it top to bottom. This will create a cross shape and the pastry should now be covering the entire rim of the frying pan. Brush this sheet with olive oil too. Now repeat the process six more times so you have 8 sheets of filo on the base. Remember to lay one sheet going left to right, brush with olive oil and lay then next sheet top to bottom.
When the final sheet has been brushed with oil, pour in the cheese and spinach mixture, and flatten out with the back of a spoon. Take it right to the edges. Next, you want to roll up the overhanging filo so that is creates the crust edge for the top (see the video or pics above if you need more help with this).
To finish off the spanakopita - scrunch the remaining sheets of filo one by one and place around the topping to completely enclose it. Brush the top and edge with olive oil and put the frying pan into the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the filo pastry is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 10 minutes so the filling firms up. Cut into 4 or 6 slices and serve with tzatziki and a green salad.

Notes

Note 1: Both the spinach and the feta need to be thawed overnight to ensure they're ready to use. Just pop them in the fridge on your way to bed and they'll be ready come lunch or dinner time the following day.

Note 2: The amount of salt you need is very much going to depend on the feta you use. The Greek feta I tend to use is from Dodoni, which is very salty. As such I haven't included much extra here. I suggest tasting your spinach/leek/cheese mix before adding it into the pastry and add more if you think it needs it.

I don't make my spanakopita with fresh spinach, but if you would like to - English spinach with the stems trimmed would be a good replacement. 1 - 2 bunches would likely give you the same volume once cooked down. I would also suggest pan-frying the spinach on its own first and then squeezing out the liquid once it's cooled.

It's very important to let the spanakopita sit for 5 - 10 minutes once it's come out of the oven. If you don't do this it can fall apart when you cut into it.

Nutrition