Spanakopita

*Recipe courtesy of my buddy Sophia

Two of my dear friends, for different reasons, have been recently bed/couchridden and therefore have been graciously accepting meals from many of our friends. I've never been much of a fan of the typical lasagna/casserole/enchilada/freezer-meal fare (see my minestrone post) that often accompanies this sort of an occasion. However, that presents a bit of a challenge when attempting to plan a meal that would be easy to transport and reheat without completely ruining it. Thankfully my buddy Sophia came to the rescue!
Sophia's family is entirely, beautifully Greek (you should see the photos from her amazing wedding in Mykonos) and she has this incredible book of authentic recipes to show for it. One of those recipes is this delicious and actually, quite simple spanakopita. I doubled the filling and was able to fill three 8x8 pans (which, thankfully, meant that we got to keep one for our dinner) but the recipe would also generously fill one pan for a family with hearty appetites. Uh...who am I kidding? I ate half of of our pan myself.

This is best eaten fresh out of the oven but is actually quite lovely at room temperature too.

Ingredients:

• one bag frozen spinach or two boxes frozen spinach
• 2 small/medium onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp fresh dill
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1.5 - 2 cup crumbled feta
• one package phylo dough
• 1/4 -1 stick butter, melted (+ olive oil to make it healthier! I use 1/4 stick, my relatives use a whole stick)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Saute onions and garlic in oil over med heat. Add salt and spinach. Cook over med heat for 5 min, remove. Allow to cool, then add beaten eggs, dill, and feta. Set aside.
3. Butter 9x13 pan. Place sheet of phylo in pan, butter/oil it, add another sheet, butter/oil it, etc. After approx 5 layers, put spinach mixture on top. Layer phylo again. This time, crumble/scrunch several layers of phylo to trap air and make it lighter/crispier. Josh prefers to use oil for bottom layers and butter for top. I often do an oil/butter blend. You can skimp on all butter except for the topmost layer. Really lather it on there.
4. IMPORTANT: Cut the spanakopita before baking. It will help make the pieces neater and easier to serve afterwards.
   
5. Bake for 45 min, or until golden brown.
   

If you want to make this ahead of time, cover it tightly and refrigerate until it is ready to be baked. Adjust the baking time accordingly (mine took about an hour).