Spanakopita

Let me introduce you to my new favorite recipe!

 

I'm a life long fan of Greek food. We went to a Greek Orthodox festival each summer when I was a girl and I learned then what people in the Mediterranean have known for centuries: Greek food is amazing!

Want to know the best part about Greek cuisine? It's incredibly easy to create in a healthy way, because it's built upon naturally healthful and delicious ingredients. 

 

Check out my recipe below. I didn't add one ounce of fat or salt not naturally found in these ingredients. This is about as healthy as Spanakopita could ever hope to be!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves of minced garlic

1 1/2 cups of fresh Spinach, chopped*

1 cup of fresh Kale, stems removed and chopped

2 tablespoons of dried Parsley

2 packages of ready-made crescent rolls (I recommend Trader Joe's variety.)**

2 eggs 

1/2 cup of Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup of Feta Cheese

*Measuring a cup of any greens can be tricky. The best way to measure it is with your hand. Grab a fist full of Spinach or Kale. Once you chop it, this should make about a cup. 

**Okay, you know how I feel about ready-made pre-packaged foods. Generally, I avoid them at all costs. Phillo dough is very high in fat and is nearly impossible to make well from gluten-free flours. Using pre-made crescent rolls lowers the fat content of this recipe and makes easy work of the dough. Trader Joe's makes an excellent ready-made crescent roll that has no creepy ingredients or preservatives. 

Directions:

Preheat your oven for 350*F. Line the bottom of an 8x8 square brownie pan with parchment paper. 

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high. Caramelize your onions until they are gently brown. Add in your garlic. One handful at a time, add your chopped spinach and kale. Stir until the kale and spinach start to wilt, but don't allow them to get soggy. Sprinkle with the parsley and remove from the heat while you prepare the cheese batter and pan. 

Getting your Spanakopita cheese batter to a nice smooth texture makes all the difference. You can go old school and hand mix it, but I prefer to cheat and use a blender or food processor. Either will work nicely. Place eggs, ricotta, and feta (in that order) into your blender and pulse for 30 seconds. Pour into the skillet with the green mixture and fold until the cheese batter completely coats all the greens. 

Open and unroll your crescent rolls, divide into three piles. Your goal is to create three nice layers with the spinach-kale-cheese batter laying in between. Line the bottom of your brownie pan. It's OK to let the crescent dough overlap. Using your fingers work the dough to the edges of the pan and press the dough together where ever it overlaps with other dough. You don't need to make a perfect seal because it will expand and grow together in the oven, you just want it to be physically close. 

Layer half of the spinach-kale batter on top of the dough. Place the next layer of crescent dough on top of the spinach-kale layer. Don't press down because the wet layer will mush. Simply lay the crescent dough gently on top. Now, pour in the last of your spinach-kale batter. Cover it with the last of your crescent dough. Make sure you completely covered the spinach-kale batter. 

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for about 16 minutes. Remove the foil and place in the oven again until the top layer of dough is a deep golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and allow the pan to completely cool. The Spanakopita should easily remove from the pan by turning it on its side. Cut into nice triangles and serve. Garnish with fresh parsley.