Greek Spinach, Cheese and Feta Triangles (Spanakopittakia)
Greek Spinach, Cheese and Feta Triangles (Spanakopittakia)
What is Spanakopittakia?
Spanakopittakia are the spinach cheese and feta triangles we all know and love!
Suitable as starter, snack or a vegetarian dinner, these tasty triangles are mini individualized portions of Greek Spinach Pie (Spankopita). The filling is exactly same as the pie, although traditionally the pie can also be made with homemade pastry. I prefer to use filo pastry in all my triangles and pies. First, it is quicker and second, I love the golden, crunchy flakiness that only filo can provide.
The triangles take slightly longer to make than the pie due to buttering and folding the triangle shapes, so I find it best to make these triangles on a weekend. I make the pie version during the week. The mixture can be made in advance and then off to the kitchen table to butter and roll the filo triangles.
I first made these triangles as a child watching my grandmother and mother in the kitchen. It is a fun and family friendly activity to do with kids. Everyone has their 'job' in the production line. One person can be buttering the pastry, the second person can be placing large tablespoons of mixture on the filo corner and rolling. The third person can be ordering the filo triangles onto a tray and topping off with more butter to make the pastries golden and flaky.
This is what the Greek table is all about. It is everyone working together to produce a meal that will be shared with by all the family. It is your parents growing the vegetables in their own garden, family members helping out cooking the food. Everyone has contributed to the meal and everyone will enjoy it together. A theme that runs through the Greek household on many, many levels.
One bite of these pastries and you will see what I mean. Golden, crunchy flakiness with a perfectly balanced flavour of the greens mixed with the saltiness of the cheeses. Heaven!
Did I mention you can eat them cold? Yes, leftovers for lunch or that afternoon snack lingering in the refrigerator. That is, if there will be any left. I made these tasty morsels, intended yesterday, for dinner at 6pm. My kids rushed through the door at 4.30pm, squealing with delight when they saw the spanakopittakia. These are the same kids who scrunch their noses up and yell "Yuk" when a piece of broccoli sneaks onto their plate. They were all gone by 5pm. Note to self: wait until just before dinner to make these triangles.
So yes, this is one way to get your greens into your kids! And to get some help in the kitchen and teach them to cook at the same time too!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 (500g) silverbeet, chopped
- 1/2 cup (125ml) water
- 3 stalks shallots, finely sliced
- 1/2 cup continental parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup fennel, chopped
- 200g feta, crumbled
- 100g parmesan, grated
- 100g ricotta, soft
- 6 eggs, medium
- 1 tspn cinnamon, dried
- black pepper to taste, fine
- 12 sheets filo pastry
- 100g melted butter
Instructions
- In a frypan, add the chopped silverbeet and shallots and water and cook until wilted. Remove and lightly squeeze the silverbeet to remove any excess water. Drain liquid.
- Place the spinach mixture into a bowl. Add the fresh herbs and cheeses to the bowl.
- Lightly beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Add the teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Season with pepper and stir the whole mixture until it well combined. At this stage, you can leave the mixture to cool on the bench for 10 minutes or refrigerate the mixture until you are ready to roll, as the heat will make the filo pastry tear.
- Unroll the filo and cut into 3 pieces on the long or short length, placing a wet towel on top to prevent drying out.
- Take one piece of filo, brush with melted butter and place a heaped tablespoon of mixture into center at the top.
- Fold the pastry into a triangle shape. Keep folding on the diagonal, into triangle shapes until the end of the pastry is reached. The final shape is one triangle.
- Repeat until all the triangles have been made. Place onto a lined baking tray and brush with melted butter
- Bake at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden and flaky.
© 2020 Amanda Moraitis
