I’ve been making this spinach pie for years for my daughter and my grandkids. During dinner tonight at my daughter’s house, my grandson Ezra said, “Safta, this is my favorite dinner!” Noah chimed in his agreement. They each had at least 4 or 5 pieces. My daughter said, “This is the perfect comfort food.” She commented that it’s her favorite meal too. She wasn’t too happy when I set aside a piece to bring home to my son Benji. When I got home, Benji wasn’t too happy that I only brought one piece home for him. Updated comment from Feb. 24, 2021. Randi’s family came for dinner tonight, and she requested that I make this, especially since Ezra has just become a vegetarian (he used to loves meat, but he cares about animals). This came out so, so perfect. Ezra had 4 pieces, Noah had 3 (he held back due to lactose intolerance, Dan had 2 big pieces, Randi had 2 or 3, Benji had 4, I had 1, and Hannah had none (she ate the chicken with the crumbs). Ezra commented, “I really love this and I don’t really like Spanikopita at restaurants.” I feel so happy!
- 1 box Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets
- 2 10 oz. boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained and squeezed pretty dry (hint- let it defrost overnight in the boxes sitting in a bowl. The liquid will seep into the bowl. Then I just unwrapped the spinach boxes, and squeezed the boxes to get rid of any more liquid! Then I squeeze the spinach dry by hand or press paper towels into the spinach to get the excess liquid)
- 3 extra large eggs
- 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese (Sargento whole milk is best)
- about 8 oz. chunk feta from Whole Foods (It comes in a big box with 16 oz. of feta in brine- just cut half of the block for one recipe)
- about a heaping 1/3 cup Whole Foods grated parmesan
- about 1 tablespoon Litehouse dill
- about 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- pinch salt
Place frozen puff pastry in refrigerator to defrost.
In mixing bowl, put mostly dry, drained spinach, eggs, parmesan cheese.(not the mozzarella – wait till later to put that in.) Break apart the feta into small crumbles and add to mixture. Add the dill, pepper, and salt. Mix gently with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until all ingredients are incorporated. It will take a good few minutes. Then gently fold in the shredded mozzarella.
Grease aluminum pan that’s about 9 x 13 in. (sides are less than 1 inch deep). Place parchment paper that’s a little longer and wider than the bottom of the pan, pressing it down into the corners. Then grease the parchment paper fully on the bottoms and up the sides.
Take 1 sheet of the puff pastry out of fridge and roll it out so that the size matches the bottom of your baking pan (about 9 by 13. Sprinkle flour on the counter as necessary to roll out the pastry. Fold up into thirds and Transfer to parchment lined pan and unfold. Spread entire filling evenly over pastry, all the way to the edges of the pastry. Then roll out second sheet of pastry. Place it over the filling, and turn the edges of the pastry over the filling and crimp it with the bottom layer of pastry. Then make an egg wash of 1 small egg with 1 teaspoon half and half, light cream, or milk, and brush it generously over top of pie. Cut a few slits in the top.
I usually stick it in the freezer uncovered for at least 45 min. or up to an hour before I bake it. If I’m going to leave it in the freezer longer, then I take it out after an hour or so and put a layer of parchment over it and cover the whole pan with aluminum foil (so the puff pastry doesn’t dry out in the freezer).
When you’re ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Uncover it if it’s covered, and place in middle rack of oven. bake about 20 min. Then raise the temperature to 400 degrees. Check after 10 min. to make sure it’s starting to puff. If it is, just bake another 20-25 min. If it isn’t starting to puff after 10 min at 400 degrees, just raise oven temperature to 425 degrees and it will definitely puff up and brown. It all depends on how hot your oven is. When I make this at home, I usually have to raise the temperature to 425 degrees, but when I make this at my daughter’s house, I only need to raise the temperature to 400 degrees because her oven is much hotter than mine. It’s ready when it’s all puffed and browned perfectly all over. Serve immediately!