Spanakopita

Spanakopita is a greek dish - Spana meaning spinach and kopita as in Pita or pie :) The light phyllo dough is used to make the pie crust and I have tried to remain true to tradition. The only addition to the recipe was I added a few pine nuts
This is a simple, healthy and delicious meal which can be executed in as little as 20 minutes for prep time and and baking time of 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 pack of frozen chopped spinach
1tbsp of pine-nuts
One 4-ounce carton of feta cheese
1 dry red chili for seasoning - if desired
3-4 tsp of olive oil

Preparation
Remove phyllo dough from freezer and place in fridge 2-3 hrs hours before preparing this dish
Set oven at 400 degrees F
Thaw the spinach and season with chili and salt and cook for a couple of minutes with about a tsp of oil
Throw in your pine nuts (you can sub with walnuts or almonds or avoid nuts if that is preferable)
Keep ready
Prepare your pan by greasing the bottom with olive oil
Roll out the phyllo dough and place 6-8 sheets dribbling scant amounts of oil every two layers to keep it from drying out- you could also keep a damp towel and dab the dough if you think it is drying out
Next layer with the spinach, followed by the feta cheese
Add 6-8 more layers of dough again dampening them with oil/damp cloth
Bake for about 15-20 mins depending on the efficiency of your oven
Remove when the phyllo dough is crisp and golden brown
Enjoy with a side salad :)

Papaya Spring Rolls (pitakis) & Papágiapita

GLOSSARY of my Papayaic version of the Greek Spanakopita.

Spanako in greek is Spinach

Pita – in Greek refers to pie or pastry crust

Pitakis are mini pies or folded triangular like a samosa or rolled like a spring roll.

My first instinct was to name this dis Papitapita as papita in Hindi means Papaya … but I did think perhaps it was a bit corny so decided to go follow the straight and narrow path to title it.

Went grocery shopping and the green semi-ripe papaya was calling out to me – not often do I see it in the store and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to try something new and different….

I’ve tried the Greek Spanakopita when we visited Greece last spring – But I did find that the Feta (pronounced) ) fay-tha to be quite dense and the Fay-tha we got with salads were thick, chunky SLABS not the piddly sprinkle that we get at restaurants here (no offense meant, since when it comes to Mozarella, no other country can be quite as generous with it.  My mission, as I’ve expressed many times now, is to take a dish and experiment with it and see if I can make a healthier version of it, using new veggies/ flour and substituting cheese with something else like a few nuts for instance – I must say that this turned out to be far more exciting and tasty than I’d anticipated.

Ingredients

1 large papaya – skinned and grated ( Pick one green on the outside to indicate that it is not fully ripe)

2-4 green chilies (optional)

1 large red onion chopped small

I handful of slivered almonds (crushed)

½ tsp of crushed bay leaves

½ tsp turmeric

Salt

2 tsp of olive oil

For the wrap I used instead of phylo dough, Kawan Spring Roll pastry – A Malaysian product available in Indian stores and in Asian grocery stores

Preparation

First remove the wrap from the freezer and allow it to thaw for about an hour

Sprinkle salt on the grated papaya and put in a colander and allow the water to drain for about ½ hour (Unlike other veggies like eggplant, there will not be much)

Set the oven to 400 degrees

In a pan, get the oil hot, add the onions and green chilies and some salt

Add the turmeric and the bay leaves and allow them to cook

Add the papaya and let the all cook together on high flame –keep uncovered

When its starts coming together, add the ground almonds and stir in

On a baking pan, spray some oil spray

To make Spring Rolls

Gently peel a layer of the pastry dough and place on the greases pan

Add a tablespoonful of the vegetable and spread it long leaving ½ inch on each side of the square

Fold in the sides and the top and gently roll all the way down… repeat till you are done

Each roll takes up 1 sheet

For the Pie

Grease a square pan

Add 3 sheets of dough

Spread the papaya evenly in the square – this layer can be about ½ inch thick

Place 2 more squares of dough over the papaya curry

And add the remaining papaya, again spreading evenly

Place 3 more sheets of dough over it

Bake

Spray some oil over both and bake for about 15-18 minutes

Serve with ketchup, and some salad 

I discovered how very tasty cooked papaya can be - I hope you will too – Until next time, ehfaristo and yassou (thank you and goodbye!) J

In Pictures

The fruit

Grated

Adding ground almond

folding the roll

Ready for baking

Pie Ready for baking

Onyour plate :)

Ready to eat