If you have not tried Spanakopita before, you’re in for a treat! Spanakopita is a delicious savoury Greek pie made of perfectly crispy layers of phyllo dough and a comforting filling of spinach, feta and ricotta cheese. Spanakopita makes a great side dish next to lamb or lemon chicken, but it can also easily stand alone as the main dish.
Spanakopita
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- Rolling pin
- Large tablecloth
Ingredients
Pastry
- 2 cups
Olympian Plain Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 200 mls Water
- 1/2 cup Unsalted peanut butter
- 2 tbsp Vinegar
Filling
- 250 g Ricotta
- 250 g Feta
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Large egg
- 250 g Spinach, blanched
- 100 ml Olive Oil
Instructions
- Make a soft dough combining flour, salt, vinegar, olive oil and water.
- Melt butter and oil in saucepan on low heat.
- Portion dough in small round balls, roll out, brushing with melted mixture. Cover with Plastic. Wrap to avoid drying out.
- Prepare the working surface by dusting the table cloth with flour.
- Place the dough on the table, dust with flour and start rolling out until 55-60 cm diameter. Dust with flour all the time, this will prevent sticking.
- When you've achieved wanted size, spoon 3 tbs of oil around the dough, and spread with your fingers. Do this with all of your round balls of dough. Rest the dough for 30 minutes.
- Now slowly and gently pull the pastry from the centre to the edge (Back of your hand is better to use - go around the dough. Round tables are perfect for this!)
- Dot the fillings around edges, turn dough from outside edge to cover the filling.
- With a spoon add some extra oil around the edges, and centre of pastry.
- Start rolling the pastry towards the center, pulling gently at the same time towards your self - this will add stretch your pastry, ensuring thin, crisp appearance.
- Cut the pastry in the middle and continue to roll inwards, until all is rolled up.
- You will get a circle of made pastry/pita, which you need to cut and start rolling into a spiral form.
- Oil the top of pita - spray is fine, and bake for 25-30 min.
Notes
Order your Olympian Plain Flour here.
Step 1 states to make the soft dough using flour, salt, vinegar,olive oil and water and then step 2 states to melt butter and oil on low heat. Does the butter go into step 1 as well. sorry I am a little confused as to when to incorporate the butter. Cheers!
Hi Dee, thank you for your questions.
The butter doesn’t go in step one.
Once you melt the butter, portion dough in small round balls, roll out, brushing with melted mixture. Cover with Plastic. Wrap to avoid drying out.
Do you stack the small, butter brushed rounds on top of one another and then roll the whole lot out to form the large circle? Or do you form a separate large circle with each small round? If so, how do you roll out something which has been brushed with butter and oil?
Hi Jessie, The dough is not stacked. Each round ball is flattened and you can place it on a plate and then paste in with butter and oil as the recipe states. Do that will all your round balls. Then once well rested at least 30 minutes, you place it on the table, and you may like to use a white table cloth which will make the dough easier to roll up once you have opened and spread the dough. We have a video showing how it’s done if you would like to send your email address through.
Hello. Is there a video you can share on how to make? You say melt butter and oil but how much oil goes in with the butter?