Easy Spanakopita Spiral (+ video)
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 1/2 hours
- Yield: about 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
- 13.2 oz (375g) filo dough, thawed in the fridge
- 16 oz (455g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- Olive oil for sautéeing
- 2 cups (120g) chopped green onion
- 3 medium cloves garlic (10g), crushed through a press
- 1 cup (40g) chopped parsley
- ¼ cup (10g) dill
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cup (175g) crumbled feta
- 1 tsp (1g) dried mint (optional)
- ½ tsp (1.5g) black pepper
- Salt
- ½ cup (105 g) melted clarified butter* and/or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp seeds (e.g., nigella or sesame)** (optional)
Instructions
- Move your filo dough from the fridge to the counter for about 2 hours. Do not remove it from the packaging until you’re ready to fill it.
- Preheat your oven to 420°F (215°C).
- Wring out the spinach: Place about ¼ of the spinach in a clean tea towel***, twist it shut, and keep twisting and squeezing to wring it out. You should end up with about 190g. Once it’s completely dry, add to the mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining batches.
- Make the filling: Move the small saucepan back over medium heat, let it heat for a minute or two, and add 1 teaspoon olive oil and the green onions. Stir for about 4 minutes, just until they soften and cook down a bit. Remove to the mixing bowl.
- Add the garlic, parsley, dill, eggs, feta, mint, and pepper to the mixing bowl. Season with about ¾ tsp (4g) salt. Mix together very well.
- Fill and shape the spanakopita: Open the filo and prepare to work quickly. Separate out ⅓ of the sheets and keep the rest covered under the plastic sheet they came in. Place one filo sheet on a clean surface and brush with butter. Top with another sheet, brush with more butter, and repeat until you have a stack with the top brushed in butter. Place ⅓ of the filling in a line down one side of the filo’s long side. Roll it up (not tightly), starting with the filled side, ending with the unfilled side. Twist into a spiral (seam-side-down), and move to a greased sheet pan or large ovenproof skillet.
- Repeat twice more with the remaining filo and filling. Tuck the second link into the end of the first one, and coil it around the outside, then repeat with the third and final one. If you run out of butter at any point, just use more olive oil.
- Brush the top with any remaining butter or olive oil. Sprinkle with nigella seeds, if using.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown, crispy, and completely heated through.
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Notes
* Use any combination of clarified butter and extra virgin olive oil, to reach ½ cup (105 g) oil/butter combined. To clarify butter, start with 1 stick (115g) butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer. Keep an eye on the temperature and adjust it as necessary, so that the butter solids don’t brown. Remove the pan from heat as soon as the simmering has quieted down a bit, but before it goes silent—this should take about 4 minutes from the time the butter melts. Use a spoon to skim off any floating solids, and place them in a medium mixing bowl. Slowly pour the melted butter into a measuring cup, leaving behind any of the solids left at the bottom of the pot. If you’d like to, you can add the solids into the mixing bowl with the filling. You should have between ⅓ and ½ cup (85g) of butter after clarifying, which you will add olive oil to to reach 1/2 cup (105 g) oil/butter combined.
** Nigella seeds look a lot like black sesame seeds, but the two could not taste more different. Use whichever you love.
*** If you don’t want to risk staining your towel, you can just do this in more like 8 batches with your bare hands. Afterwards, dab with a paper towel to make sure your spinach is totally dry.