Have you ever heard of Spanakopita? If not, you HAVE to try this! Spanakopita is a traditional Greek dish which is made from layers of filo pastry, spinach and feta cheese! It´s absolutely delicious, perfect for feeding a crowd and makes for a lovely light lunch or dinner, served with some salad on the side!
I decided to make my spanakopita in the shape of a spiral rather than the traditional layered version! It may look like it might be difficult to make, but it´s actually extremely quick and easy to make! Unless of course you decide to make your own filo pastry, haha… More of that below!
The Components of the Spiral Spanakopita
Spanakopita is made from three main components: filo pastry, spinach, and feta cheese. When it comes to the filo pastry, it´s obviously easiest to buy ready-made filo pastry from the shop. If, however, you want to give yourself a bit of an extra challenge, then why not try making your own? It can be a little fiddly and time-consuming to make, but it´s also quite satisfying when you get it right! 😉 If you want to give it a go, check out my baking basics post on How To Make Filo Pastry here.
For the filling, you will need feta cheese and spinach. Because you need quite a lot of spinach, I think it is best to use frozen spinach. Once defrosted, the spinach is mixed with the feta cheese, cream cheese, onion, garlic, lemon juice, chopped pine nuts, spices and an egg to bind the whole mixture together. Once that´s all mixed together, all you need to do is assemble the spanakopita!
How To Shape the Spiral Spanakopita
I opted to make a spiral spanakopita, but you could of course keep it traditional and just created a layered version of it, too. It´s not that difficult to shape it into a spiral though and I think it looks more impressive that way, so that´s why I opted for…
To assemble, you first need to create a few layers of filo pastry. Each filo pastry layer is brushed with a little olive oil before laying the next bit of pastry on top. Put about 2-3 pastry sheets/circles next to one another, overlapping slightly, then add a second layer of pastry on top.
Arrange about half of the spinach mix in a line along the bottom edge of the pastry, before rolling it up into a sausage shape. Then, all you need to do is roll the sausage up into a spiral. Repeat once more, wrapping the second pastry “sausage” around the start of the spiral (see pictures). The recipe below will make two “sausages” that are about 40cm long, and a spiral spanakopita to serve around 4 people as a main dish. Simply multiply the recipe by 1.5, 2, etc. to serve 6, 8 or more people.
What to Serve with the Spiral Spanakopita?
Due to the thin, flaky filo pastry, spanakopita feels like quite a “light” dish. It´s perfect for lunch or dinner on warm days, and serving it alongside a fresh green leaf salad is perfect! You could also serve it as a starter or cut it into smaller pieces to serve at a BBQ, dinner party, pot-luck etc.
If you are looking for some salad inspiration, check out my post on 7 Ways to Spice up your Salad or my recipes for a Couscous, Quinoa or Pasta Salad.
If serving as a side dish at a BBQ, why not also try making some amazing focaccia bread to go with it. This Italian Focaccia Bread with Rosemary is my favourite, and this Tomato and Mozzarella Focaccia is also a crowd-pleaser!
Spiral Spanakopita | Greek Filo Pastry Swirl with Spinach and Feta Cheese
Recipe
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 8-10 sheets of filo pastry (shop-bought or homemade)
- 800g frozen spinach, defrosted
- 200g feta cheese, crumbled
- 50g cream cheese
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 30g pine nuts, roughly chopped
- 2 M eggs, beaten
- small lemon, juice and zest
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil, for brushing the filo pastry layers
- 1-2 tbsp sesame seeds, to finish
Method:
- If you are wanting to try and make your own filo pastry, follow the recipe in my baking basics post on How to make Filo Pastry here.
- Next, prepare the filling for the spanakopita. Make sure the spinach is fully thawed (defrost in the microwave if necessary) and place it into a clean dish towel (use on that has a dark colour). Wrap the spinach in the towel and squeeze out as much of the liquid in the spinach as possible.
- Put the spinach in the bowl and add the feta and cream cheese, onion, garlic, pine nuts and spices. Crack the eggs in a separate bowl and beat. Add most of the egg to the spinach mix, reserving a little for an egg wash later.
- Use a spoon or your hands to mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Set aside until needed.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Take the first sheet of filo pastry and lightly brush with olive oil. Lie the next piece of pastry next to it, so that the edges overlap by about 10cm. Brush with olive oil and put a third piece of pastry next to it, again overlapping the previous piece by about 10cm. Repeat this three-step process again on top of the first pastry layer.
- Arrange half of the spinach mixture in a sausage shape along one of the long edges of the filo pastry. Roll the pastry up around the spinach in a tight roll.
- Lightly brush the edges with a little more olive oil, then carefully shape the pastry roll into a tight swirl. Transfer to the lined baking tray.
- Repeat steps 6 and 7 using the remaining spinach filling and add the second pastry sausage to the swirl by wrapping it around the first bit of pastry.
- Brush the spanakopita swirl with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes until the pastry is golden-brown, crisp and flaky. Serve while still warm with a green salad.
