Don't skip right over this one because you can't tell by the name what it is; these are actually really good, even if I never can remember what they're called.
You might have noticed there's quite a disparity in numbers among the various types of recipes on my blog. I'll admit, I really enjoy baking desserts. I also have been a bit sick of some of my usual dinner recipes recently, so I haven't had many that I've really wanted to share. However, I thought it was about time to share a "real food" recipe, rather than just dessert. I just made this one for dinner with my husband's family, and they all seemed to enjoy it. I took this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. (My friend Stacy gave me one of her cookbooks for Christmas.) I'll include her original recipe, along with the changes I made.
She mentioned that these are usually made small for an appetizer, but she thought larger ones would be good for dinner. She's made them filled with curried crab meat, and sausage, but her recipe is for a vegetarian version. I added sausage to mine, because my husband doesn't think it's really dinner if there's not meat (or poultry) in there somewhere.
Dinner Spanakopitas (I'll really have to think of another name for these that I can remember)
1/4 c. olive oil
1 c. chopped yellow onion (I used less than this)
3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (I only used one 12 ounce package, because of the other ingredients I added)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used a little more than this)
Plain dry bread crumbs
1 tsp. grated nutmeg (I used less than this, but my husband said he'd prefer it leaving out the nutmeg all together.)
2 tsp. sea salt I used less than this), plus some for sprinkling tops of strudels
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 c. small-diced feta cheese (12 ounces)
3 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts (I left these out. I like them okay, but decided to leave them out since I added other ingredients)
I added 1 lb. cooked sausage (Jimmy Dean 50% less fat) and 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (not marinated)
24 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted (She said that she bus phyllo dough that contains two 8-ounce packages. She uses one, and keeps one frozen for later. The kind I bought didn't have quite 24 sheets in one roll, so I had to make a couple of them with 3 sheets instead of 4. They still turned out fine.)
1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted (I used salted, because that's what I had)
(I cooked the sausage first, and put it in a bowl. Then I used the same pan and cooked the onions.) Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the scallions, and cook for another 2 minutes until the scallions are wilted but still green. Meanwhile, gently squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a large bowl. (I added it to the bowl with the sausage in it.)
When the onion and scallions are done, add them to the spinach. (I then chopped the artichoke hearts and added them to the bowl.) Mix in the eggs, Parmesan cheese, 3 Tbsp. bread crumbs, the nutmeg if desired, salt, and pepper. Gently fold in the feta and pine nuts.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place one sheet of phyllo dough flat on a work surface with the short end in front of you. Brush the dough lightly with butter and sprinkle it with about a teaspoon of bread crumbs. (Use just enough bread crumbs so the layers of phyllo don't stick together.) Working quickly, slide another sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first, brush it with butter, and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Pile 4 layers total on top of each other this way, brushing each with butter and sprinkling with bread crumbs. Cut the sheets of phyllo in half lengthwise. Place about 1/3 c. spinach filling on the shorter end and roll up the phyllo diagonally as if folding a flag. Then fold the triangle of phyllo over straight and then diagonally and then straight until you reach the end of the sheet. The filling should be totally enclosed. Continue assembling phyllo layers and folding the filling until all dough is used. Place on a sheet pan, seam sides down. Brush tops with melted butter, sprinkle with sea salt (she recommend flaked sea salt), and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and crisp. Serve hot.
*I had about 2 c. of filling left over. She did mention that you can fill and wrap these ahead of time, freeze, and bake later. I would either reduce the amounts of the filling ingredients, or make extras with the other roll of dough, and freeze them for a quick dinner another night.
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