Spanakopita

Make sure your phyllo and spinach are both defrosted before you begin. Ideally, leave them in the fridge for at least 24 hours and up to 4 days.

Empty the spinach in a colander in the sink. Let it drain while you work on the rest.

Chop the parsley. Use the leaves and all of the stems and chop it finely. Place this is a large bowl.

Dice the onion as finely as you can. Add to the bowl.

Mince the garlic. Add to the bowl.

Zest the lemon, then juice both halves into the bowl. Add the eggs. Add the feta, crumbling it up as you go. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Taking 1 handful at a time, squeeze the spinach as you would a snowball, to really drain out the liquid. Add to the bowl.

Toss the entire bowl really well to combine everything evenly. Taste a small bite and add more salt if needed. It depends a bit on the feta you use!

Melt the butter in a sauté pan or bowl in the microwave. When it’s fully melted, stir in the olive oil.

Meanwhile, get a 9” x 13” casserole dish ready on the counter (in the photo, we made 4 smaller dishes which you can do too, but it will be a little more work).

Open the phyllo and unroll it carefully onto the countertop near the casserole dish.

Using a pastry brush, coat the dish lightly with the melted butter/oil mixture. Pick up a piece of phyllo and lay it in the dish. (Did it break? No worries. Just layer the pieces next to each other). Let the edges of the phyllo hang up and over the dish, sort of like you would for a pie crust. If the phyllo doesn’t hang over the edges by at least 1-2 inches, turn it the other way, so you have 2 pieces side by side and a lot of hangover.

After you place 1 piece, brush it lightly but completely, with butter/oil mixture. Layer the next piece of phyllo over the first. Again, if it breaks, just place it back where you need it. It’s very forgiving!

Butter, phyllo, butter, phyllo. Repeat until you have layered 9 - 12 sheets of phyllo.

Turn all of the filling out into the shell. Gently press it into the corners and into an even layer.

Lay another sheet of phyllo over the spinach. Then butter it. Layer another sheet. It might be a little more challenging to do this over a mound of spinach, but remember, it’s forgiving and you can piece it back together as needed.

Layer 5 - 8 sheets of phyllo.

Brush butter on the top of the casserole, the final layer. Brush all the way to the edges. Then, fold and crumble up the edges to make a rim, similar to a pie, but use a messy scrunch more than a crimp.

When it’s all sitting in the casserole dish, move it to a baking sheet.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40-50 minutes.

When it’s done, cut into squares with a sharp knife. Make sure to cut all the way through the bottom crust.

This dish is great hot, warm, and even at room temperature. Reheating works well in the oven or toaster oven. A section of this would also freeze perfectly if wrapped well.