Spiraled Spanakopita With Feta
Updated May 7, 2024
- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus overnight thawing and cooling
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes, plus overnight thawing
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 3(10-ounce) or 2 (1-pound) packages frozen spinach, thawed (see Tip)
- 1cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6large shallots, cut into ⅛-inch slices, or 2 medium yellow onions, quartered and very thinly sliced
- 1½teaspoons fine sea salt
- ¼teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems chopped (about 1 cup)
- ¼cup/35 grams dried Zante currants or chopped black raisins
- 2tablespoons dried dill
- 1teaspoon dried mint
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon ground coriander
- ¾cup/200 grams ricotta
- 2large eggs, lightly beaten
- 8 to 10ounces feta, preferably Greek sheep’s milk, crumbled (1½ to 1¾ cups)
- 1pound/454 grams frozen phyllo dough sheets, thawed (see Tip)
Preparation
- Step 1
Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Step 2
Put the thawed spinach in a nut-milk bag, fine-mesh sieve or clean kitchen towel you don’t mind staining. Squeeze and discard as much excess liquid from the spinach as you can. Set the drained spinach aside.
- Step 3
In a large pot, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium until it shimmers. Add the shallots, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring every minute or so, until soft and translucent but not brown, about 10 minutes.
- Step 4
Off heat, stir in the parsley, currants, dill, mint, oregano and coriander. Add the drained spinach and stir, breaking up any large clusters of greens. Add the ricotta and mix well to cool the mixture.
- Step 5
Lightly beat the eggs, then reserve 1 tablespoon of the eggs in a small bowl to use as an egg wash later. Add the remaining eggs and the feta to the spinach mixture; stir until well combined. Set the filling aside.
- Step 6
Position a rack just below the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Clear a work surface so that you have a space at least 34 inches wide by 16 inches deep to set up the phyllo.
- Step 7
Using half the dough, you want to create a rectangle of overlapping phyllo that’s 34 inches wide and 12 to 14 inches deep. Lay a sheet of phyllo at the far right of your work surface so that the edge that’s 12 to 14 inches long is vertical. Use a pastry brush to dab olive oil onto the dough; the coverage should be patchy and imperfect. Place a second sheet over the first, leaving 1½ to 2 inches uncovered on the right. Oil this sheet as you did the first and repeat this offset overlapping and oiling process with half of the phyllo until the total width of connected sheets is 34 inches.
- Step 8
Use a large spoon to evenly scatter half of the filling in a horizontal line spanning almost the width of the dough, leaving 1 inch on the left and the right and 2 inches on the bottom edge. Use your hands to form the filling into a loose, even log that is about 32 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide.
- Step 9
Fold the bottom 2 inches of phyllo over the filling, and roll away from you, pausing as you roll to brush the newly exposed, unoiled surface of the dough with oil.
- Step 10
Once you have a loose, sealed cylinder, turn it so it’s seam side down, and, beginning with the right end, coax it into a spiral. Carefully transfer the spiral to the center of your parchment-lined pan.
- Step 11
Make a second log, just as you did the first, using the remaining filling and phyllo. (You may end up with a few unused sheets of phyllo, which you can use for repairing any tears, if necessary.) Transfer the log to the pan, so one of its ends meets the exposed end of the existing spiral, and continue the spiral with the second log. Seal the loose end to the spiral, apply phyllo to any tears and generously brush the entire surface of the pie with oil.
- Step 12
Add ½ teaspoon cold water to the reserved egg and beat with a fork. Lightly brush the egg wash over the entire surface of the pie, including in the spiral’s cracks. Puncture the phyllo all over using a paring knife to release steam during baking.
- Step 13
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until deeply golden brown and crisp. If any oil has leaked out of the phyllo, carefully slide the pie off the parchment onto a cooling rack. Otherwise, cool directly on the pan.
- Step 14
Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges and serve hot or at room temperature, with a side of sheep’s-milk yogurt, tzatziki or Greek salad. Wrap leftovers in aluminum foil or in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a toaster oven or oven.
- The best and lowest-effort way to thaw both frozen spinach and phyllo dough is to leave them, still in their packaging, in the refrigerator overnight. (You can also use other frozen greens such as kale or broccoli rabe.)
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Used kale, collards, and chard. Sautéed stems first with onions and scallions. Added one clove of garlic and juice of half a lemon. Used fresh herbs. Delicious!
Used Swish chard, collard greens, and kale. Sautéed stems with onions and scallions, and one clove garlic. Added greens. Juice of half a lemon, 1 tsp salad, some za'atar, fresh herbs.
I’ve made this twice now, once with phyllo and once with puff pastry because I picked up the wrong box! It’s equally delicious with both. My grandchildren are very picky eaters, and they loved it!
My local markets carry phyllo in 3 different thicknesses: #4, #7, and #10, but I’ve yet to see a recipe that specifies which one to use. Can someone clarify the difference?
Excellent recipe, easier and faster than it sounds, and really delicious. We used local fresh scallions instead of shallots, and added juice of half a lemon. I might increase the currents to 3/4 cup next time, and will switch to all fresh herbs (mint, especially). Pair with a rich food-friendly red wine, cotes du rhone for example.
I am Greek and never had raisins in spanakopita in my life. Odd.
If you have the time, very good. I will up the currants next time, nice to get a bit of sweetness. I added pine nuts and would again.
A potato ricer is my tool of choice to squeeze the liquid out of leafy greens like spinach.
This looks delicious. I wanted to mention that if you have a potato ricer it does a bang up job of squeezing water out of spinach. I saw this mentioned somewhere else and tried it and wanted to kick myself for not thinking of it sooner. It really is a great use of that tool.
I am looking forward to making this. Sounds delicious!
Made this today for tomorrow's Pascha dinner. I used butter on the phyllo sheets, not oil. Left out currants, oregano and coriander. I haven't had pitas with those three ingridients ever. It helps to have a second pair of hands when doing a recipe like this; a good mother-daughter (or son) project.
There are good pictures in the original article that show just how to lay out the phyllo. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/dining/greek-orthodox-easter-striftopites.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare.
If there ever was a need for fabulous NYT video. This is it.
I can’t imagine a Greek cook using dried herbs. Plus they use parley, dill and mint. Most use scallions in place of onions or shallots.
I learned to make this from my Yiayia. I would help her make the phyllo down in the basement then we would carry it up to her bedroom and lay it out onto of a clean sheet on the bed. She was the best cook, her pastries were famous and the meatballs were devoured before they hit the dinner table.
True. The dill, mint and onions came from the garden, NEVER store bought.
Hello from Athens - Yes we use dried herbs
Although I didn't make this specific recipe as shown, I've made nearly identical. And you know what? I buy the frozen one at Trader Joe's and save the hassle and time. It's just as good.
The TJs ones are utterly scrumptious. I serve them as an appetizer and let guests cut or pull pieces off. So many of my friends now buy them too !
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