It’s Greek to me, this Spanakopita dish that is. From the time I was 17 years old and attended my first Greek Festival, I speculated that without a shadow of a doubt, there had to be Greek, even if minimally, in my DNA. Of course as luck would have it, after taking an Ancestry.com test, I did confirm that I do in fact have a small percentage of Greek in my DNA.

From lamb and chicken gyros, spanakopita, saganaki, baklava, kourambiedes, I can’t get enough of this delicious food. If you’ve tried Greek food before then I know you’ll share my affinity for this culture’s food. Spanakopita is ridiculously easy to make, but a warning, it is laborious to make. Take the time to make this a few hours in advance before needing to serve it. This particular recipe came from my boys’ Raddish Kids Greece Feasts Kit. Upon serving the Spanakopitas, beware as they will not last long. Ha! Enjoy!

Spanakopita

Ingredients

• 1 roll Athens phyllo dough (2 come in each box)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• 1/2 cup whole milk Ricotta
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup packed fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup water

Prepare

1. Thaw phyllo dough according to package instructions. Tampering with the dough any earlier than three hours of thawing will result in the phyllo dough sheets breaking and falling apart. For that reason, let it thaw it on the kitchen counter, while still bagged, for up to three hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Crack egg into medium mixing bowl. Throw away shells and which until very smooth.
3. Mix in the Parmesan, Feta, ricotta, black pepper, and garlic powder to egg.
4. Chop spinach into small pieces. Add to egg and cheese mixture. Mix thoroughly.
5. Also, add butter to small microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1.5 minutes.
6. Pick up two sheets of phyllo dough together. Set on cutting board. Use a pastry brush to coat the top with butter. Use a pastry brush to coat the top with butter.
7. Use a sharp pizza cutter or kitchen scissors to slice dough into 4 long strips, making longest strips of dough possible.
8. Place 1 tbsp spinach-cheese filling to the end of each strip.
9. Gently fold up the corner of each strip to make a triangle.
10. Loosely fold each triangle, so as to not break the dough, to make another . Continue folding triangles to wrap up all the dough.
11. Set on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat steps 6-10 until all the dough and spinach-cheese mixture has run out. Brush the tops with butter.
12. Bake until crisp and lightly browned, 13 minutes. Finally, taste and share…or at least try to. Ha!