Conference turris::cooks

I got this recipe from an Albanian friend of mine. As a matter of fact, I
went over to her place for a crash cooking course. It's really easy to
make and it tastes great. Hope this is what you're looking for.
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				Spinich Pie
				-----------

    ingredients:

	Dough			
	-----
	4 cups sifted flour (use King Arthur for best results)
	1 tsp salt
	1 tsp oil
	1 cup water (approx)

	Mix flour, salt, and oil together. Add water. Let sit 1/2 hour.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Filling					Increased Filling
	-------					-----------------
	1 pkg fresh spinich (ONLY)!		2 pkgs fresh spinich
	1 lb. cottage cheese			1-1/2 lbs cottage cheese
	1 tsp salt				1 tsp salt
	6 eggs					8 eggs
	3 oz feta cheese (optional)		5 oz feta cheese (optional)

	Clean spinich and break up. Put aside. Mix cheese, salt and eggs
 	(for best results, use your hands). Fold in spinich. Set aside.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Directions:

	Cut dough into pieces (at least 14, but more than that (in even
	numbers) is alright). Cover cut pieces to prevent dough from
	drying out. Melt 1/2 cup butter (2 sticks) with 1 tsp shortning.
	On rolling board, roll out pieces of dough (for crust) in this
  	manner only:

			1. Flour rolling board and rolling pin.
			2. Place piece of cut dough on board.
			3. Roll dough out into circle.
			4. Brush top with butter/shortning mix.
			5. Roll out next piece of dough to size of 
			   previous piece.
			6. Place on top of previously rolled piece.
			7. Crimp the edges (with fingers).
			8. Roll out.
			9. Repeat from Step 4.

 		   Roll dough out to size of baking sheet.

		NOTE: You are actually making 2 crusts (1=bottom, 1=top). 
		      Divide your unrolled dough so that you have an even 
		      amount for both crusts. 


	Place rolled sheet of dough on a buttered cookie sheet with sides.

	Place spinich mixture on dough. Spread evenly. Pat with butter.

	Place top sheet of dough on top. Crimp and fold in the sides.

	Pour rest of butter on top.

	Bake @ 425 degrees for the first ten minutes. Turn oven down to 350
	degrees and finish baking (30 minutes).

I learned this recipe from my grandmothers and great aunts.  It is fairly
easy to make and tastes terrific.

                       Spanokopeta - Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh spinach
1 bunch of scallions (optional)
1 pound feta cheese
6 eggs
1 stick butter
1/2 cup olive oil
oregano
black pepper

1 box of frozen phyllo dough


Defrost phyllo dough according to directions on box.  Unless you have an
entire day to spend,  I would recommend that you buy frozen phyllo dough.
Most local supermarkets sell it.  It is usually under $2.00.

Wash spinach and remove all stems.  Tear it into semi-uniform pieces as
if you were making a salad.  Clean scallions and chop finely.  Add them
to the spinach.

Melt butter and oil together.  This will be used to moisten the dough.

Mix eggs but do not overbeat; add spices to eggs. Crumble feta cheese.
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly toss spinach/scallions with eggs
and cheese mixture.  Set aside.

Open phyllo dough package and lay on counter. Cover with damp towel to
prevent air drying.  Phyllo dries out very easily and turns to flakes.
I use a Chicago deep dish pizza pan to make my pie in.  Any large
baking dish will do - either round or oblong.

Brush the pan with the buter/oil mixture.  You will next line the pan with
individual phyllo sheets one at a time.  The trick to phyllo is to sprinkle
it with butter to prevent it from drying.  I usually do 1 or 2 sheets
at a time.  The objective is to have a little dough hang over the edge of
the pan.  Use about half of the phyllo, 12 sheets or so, on the bottom.

Spread the spinach mixture in the pan being sure to level it.  Watch out
for clumps of feta - it tends to settle to the bottom.  After you have
done this, fold the excess phyllo sheets that overhang the pan onto the
spinach.  In other words, you are going to carefully take the phyllo 
dough off of the sides of the pan and push it on the spinach. Next you
should place sheets of phyllo one at a time on top and sprinkle with
butter mixture.  Using the pastry brush, tuck the exposed or overhanging
corners of the top crust into the side of the pan.  The butter will 
cause it to bond to the bottom crust.  If you need more butter, use it.

Once you have assembled the pie, bake it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
If the crust is not brown enough, leave it in longer.  If it browns too
much, lower the setting by 25 degrees and bake longer

Note:  you can use the ingredients from above to make Trigona or turnovers.
       Work with one sheet of phyllo at a time and butter it and then
       fill and fold it to make a turnover.  These should be baked for
       less time.  They can be frozen and used as appetizers or 
       hors d'oeuvres.

    These recipes sound tremendous! I've just started to experiment
    with phyllo pastry - it's a lot of fun!
    
    But I do have a question about the spinach - all the recipes I've
    seen call for frozen spinach, or they say "fresh or frozen".  But,
    when whatever I'm making is eaten at room temperature, it seems
    to have a slightly bitter taste - is this because I should be using
    fresh spinach instead? If so, if the recipe calls for half a pound,
    for example, is this before or after cleaning? Would more eggs help
    the flavor?? 
    
    Also, does anyone have a recipe for a lemon-flavord filling for
    these triangles? Could you use a basic cheese-filling and add lemon
    extract?? Or lemon pudding? Not sure how this would bake, though.
    
    I have seen people brush melted butter on each sheet to completely
    cover it - while this makes it yummy, I can't help but wonder how
    many calories per stroke!  How much is really necessary?
    
    any help/hints appreciated!

Here is my spinach pie recipe. I never heard a bad comment about it yet.
Everybody loves it. The trick is the sauce I think. I also use the same recipe
without the spinach (use double the amount of feta cheese, and add fresh
chopped dill or parsley) to make cheese pie, which is very common in
    Turkey.

SPINACH PIE - Turkish Style

2 packages of filo dough
2 packages of fresh spinach
2 packages of feta cheese
2 medium to large white spanish onions
1 cup of yogurt
1 cup of milk
1 cup of corn oil (Mix it with olive oil if you wish)
4 eggs
salt
black pepper

You can use half of the ingredients. But make sure to still use a deep pan, 
about 2 inches thick.

Thaw the filo dough. (Leave it outside for at least 3 hrs.)

Remove the stems from the spinach, wash it thoroughly. Squeeze out all the
water from the spinach. Chop the spinach up.

Grate the onions. Squeeze out the juice, and add to the spinach.

Wash the feta cheese well, since it might be too salty. Crumble it into the
spinach.

Add 1 1/2 tea spoon of black pepper to the mixture. Now, taste the mixture.
If it is not salty enough, you can add some salt.

In a bowl, beat the yogurt with eggs. Then to this mixture add the oil, and 
milk and mix them well. Add 1 tea spoon of salt. (The filo dough has no salt,
and the salt in the sauce helps to improve the taste).


Now, you have to work fast enough, so that the filo dough doesn't dry out.
I use a 2 inch thick, 8 X 16 inch pan. 

If you are using 2 packages of filo dough, use the first package for the
bottom and the second package for the top. 

Paste the bottom and sides of the pan with a little oil, so that nothing
sticks. Put a couple of layers of filo dough on the pan. (I mean couple
of layers, but this might take more than 2 sheets of the dough). Also,
make sure that you have about couple of inches of the dough sheets to
hang from the sides of the pan. Use spoon to put enough of the sauce on
the dough evenly (don't be too shy, the sauce makes the dough cook 
well).

Spread couple more layers of the dough, pour some sauce over it. Repeat
the process until you use half of the filo dough, or the first package.

Spread the spinach mix evenly over the dough. Put a sheet of the filo
dough over it, and brush some sauce over it. Again, don't be shy on the
amount of sauce you use. Then repeat the process of layering couple sheets of 
dough, and pouring sauce over it. 

When you are left with a couple sheets of filo dough, take the dough that
was hanging from the sides of the pan and fold it over the rest of the pie.
Brush the dough with sauce, put the rest couple of layers as evenly as you 
can. Then Brush the top of the pie with the sauce.

Bake in a preheated oven (between 375 and 400 degrees) for about 35 - 45 
minutes. It might take longer depending on your oven. When the pie is
turning to have a healthy color (nice reddish brown) and is risen, you
can remove it from the oven. Wait for 10 min. before you cut it into slices.

Enjoy.

				SPINICH PIE
				-----------

    ingredients:

	Dough			
	-----
	4 cups sifted flour (use King Arthur for best results)
	1 tsp salt
	1 tsp oil
	1 cup water (approx)

	Mix flour, salt, and oil together. Add water. Let sit 1/2 hour.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Filling					Increased Filling
	-------					-----------------
	1 pkg fresh spinich (ONLY)!		2 pkgs fresh spinich
	1 lb. cottage cheese			1-1/2 lbs cottage cheese
	1 tsp salt				1 tsp salt
	6 eggs					8 eggs
	3 oz feta cheese (optional)		5 oz feta cheese (optional)

	Clean spinich and break up. Put aside. Mix cheese, salt and eggs
 	(for best results, use your hands). Fold in spinich. Set aside.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Directions:

	Cut dough into pieces (at least 14, but more than that (in even
	numbers) is alright). Cover cut pieces to prevent dough from
	drying out. Melt 1/2 cup butter (2 sticks) with 1 tsp shortning.
	On rolling board, roll out pieces of dough (for crust) in this
  	manner only:

			1. Flour rolling board and rolling pin.
			2. Place piece of cut dough on board.
			3. Roll dough out into circle.
			4. Brush top with butter/shortning mix.
			5. Roll out next piece of dough to size of 
			   previous piece.
			6. Place on top of previously rolled piece.
			7. Crimp the edges (with fingers).
			8. Roll out.
			9. Repeat from Step 4.

 		   Roll dough out to size of baking sheet.

		NOTE: You are actually making 2 crusts (1=bottom, 1=top). 
		      Divide your unrolled dough so that you have an even 
		      amount for both crusts. 


	Place rolled sheet of dough on a buttered cookie sheet with sides.

	Place spinich mixture on dough. Spread evenly. Pat with butter.

	Place top sheet of dough on top. Crimp and fold in the sides.

	Pour rest of butter on top.

	Bake @ 425 degrees for the first ten minutes. Turn oven down to 350
	degrees and finish baking (30 minutes).

	Serve.

    re: reply 6
    
    Isn't 1/2 cup butter 1 stick?   Do you use 1 stick or 2 in this recipe?
    
    Sounds great...can't wait to try it.
    

    But where's the lemon?  I plan to use your recipe, Mark, but I still
    need to know how much lemon to put in??? Anyone?  
    

	re: .7 - it should be a 1/2 cup...sorry about the typo.

	re: .8 - this recipe does not use lemon and comes out 
	         just fine. I'll have to check some other 
		 cookbooks to see what they suggest...

	_Marc.

   Phyllo Triangles with Spinach Filling (from the Eating Well cookbook)

   These phyllo triangles (similar to spanokopeta) are easy to make, high
   in taste, low in calorie.  Take them to your next party.

   2 pounds fresh spinach, stems removed
   3 tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
   2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
   2 cloves garlic, minced
   1 tsp dried thyme
   1 tsp dried oregano
   2 egg whites, beaten with fork until frothy
   3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
   1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese
   2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
   1/2 tsp. salt
   1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
   1/2 pound phyllo dough

   Wash spinach but do not dry.  Steam it in a covered stock pot, without
   additional water, for about 5 minutes, or just until it wilts.  Drain,
   squeeze out the excess moisture and chop finely.  Heat 1 tsp oil in a
   nonstick skillet over medium-low heat and saute onions, stirring often,
   until they begin to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add garlic, spinach,
   thyme and oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes.  Remove from
   the heat.  In a large bowl, combine egg whites, feta, cottage cheese, the
   spinach mixture, Parmesan, salt & pepper.

   Place rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
   Lay the phyllo dough across a cutting board, with the long side of the
   rectangle facing you, and cut it into five 2 1/2-inch-wide strips.  As
   you work, keep strips covered with a sheet of wax paper and a damp towel
   to prevent them from drying out.  Place 1 strip vertically in front of
   you and brush it lightly with some of the remaining 3 tbsp oil.  Place 1
   tsp of the filling on the right side of the base, about 1/2 inch from the
   end.  Fold the left-hand corner of the pastry diagonally over the
   filling, forming a triangle to that the filling is enclosed.  Fold the
   triangle over, down the same side of the strip, and then fold it
   diagonally again.  Continue folding up the pastry as you would a flag,
   until you reach the end.  Brush the outside lightly with oil and place
   it on a nonstick or lightly oiled baking sheet.  Continue until all the
   filling and oil are used.  Bake the pastries for 25 to 30 minutes.  Serve
   hot.  Makes 72 pastries.

   [These can be frozen and transferred directly from the freezer to the
   preheated oven.  They will take an extra 5 to 10 minutes to cook.]

   25 calories each; 1 g protein, 1 g fat, 3 g carbohydrate, 59 mg sodium,
   1 mg cholesterol