Article Title: With Spinach in Spring, Spanikopita's the Thing

Edition: May 2002
Category: Horizons
Author: Hadley Lewis
Article:

Spinach is one of the first veggies to poke its head out of the spring soil. Small, and dark green, it comes in three varieties. Flat and semisavoy are most often used for canned varieties. The savoy variety is the one that looks more rumpled and bumpy, as opposed to the long flat leaf of semisavoy and flat spinach.

Whether it's bumpy or smooth, spinach is good food.

Studies at Harvard have shown that eating spinach, kale, and broccoli and other vegetables high in lutein helps prevent bad cataracts. So, when your mother told you that eating your veggies would help you see in the dark she knew what she was talking about.

But, according to food writer Jeffery Steingarten, author of "The Man Who Ate Everything," spinach is better for you if it is cooked. The cell walls of the plant are hard to digest and the human body can better break them down if it has been cooked slightly. Otherwise the cell walls remain intact and the nutrients are not accessible.

My favorite spinach recipe is for Spanikopita, a Greek pastry using thin sheets of pastry, lots of cheese and oil, and occasionally even pine nuts or sun-dried tomatoes. The phyllo dough is sticky and fragile but try to keep it cold until right before you use it, and spreading a bit of oil on your hands when you handle it limits the risk of breakage.

Spanikopita Recipe
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds fresh spinach cleaned
3/4 tablespoons dried dill weed
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pound phyllo leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Saute onions in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Add spinach and cook 5 minutes. Stir in seasonings and cook uncovered until all liquid is absorbed. Cool until lukewarm. Combine milk, eggs and cheeses, and add to spinach mixture.

Melt butter and remaining olive oil together. Brush an 11 by 15 by 2 inch baking pan with butter-oil mixture.

Layer 8 sheets of phyllo in pan, brushing each sheet with butter-oil mixture.

Spread about 2 cups of spinach filling over phyllo in pan. Cover with 2 sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter-oil mixture. Repeat layering 2 cups of filling, 2 sheets of phyllo (brushed with butter and oil), until all the filling has been used, about 4 more layers.

Top with 7 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with butter-oil mixture. Press gently around edges so layers adhere. Prick surface all over with a toothpick or fork tines.

Bake 15 minutes, reduce heat to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and continue baking until pastry is golden, about one hour. Let stand a bit before serving.

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