Make this delicious dish from spring through early fall, whenever fresh spinach is available at your local farmers market. Our recipe calls for olive oil instead of butter, and goat/sheep cheeses, which are more easily tolerated by lactose-intolerant people than cow cheese. Six ounces of each, sheep feta and goat mozzarella, works fine, but if you prefer one to the other, you can adjust the split to suit your taste. (Feta has fewer calories.) Natural food markets usually carry some sheep and goat cheeses, but often farmers markets include local cheese makers, so check there first.
The amount of dough used here has been cut down from the original recipe by about a third, and we use spelt, rather than regular wheat, fillo (The Fillo Factory, frozen food section, natural food stores). We buy our eggs from a local farmer who specializes in pasture-raised stock, including chickens. (Chickens can be very delicate, especially in the spring, so they are not outdoors every day but when weather permits. We find pasture-raised meats and eggs to be more flavorful than factory-produced.)
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs. fresh spinach
- 1/2 C. white onion, chopped medium fine
- 4 eggs, 5 if they are small
- 3/4 C. plain goat yogurt (Redwood Hill Farm)
- 12 oz. crumbled sheep feta and grated goat mozzarella
- 6 single-layer sheets of organic spelt fillo dough, defrosted
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 2/3 tsp. salt
- 1/3 tsp. pepper
- To prepare spinach: Remove stems and spray the leaves with vegetable wash. Fill sink with cold water. Immerse spinach in water: dirt and sand will sink to the bottom of the sink. Drain sink, refill, rinse spinach and transfer to 8-qt. steamer. (You'll need about 1-1/2" of water in the bottom of the steamer, and you'll have to pack the spinach down to get all 3 lbs. in most pots.)
- Steam the spinach till it softens slightly but is not fully cooked. Remove to colander, run under cool water and let drain.
- Beat eggs until thick and pale. Slowly add onions, yogurt, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cheeses, mixing gently. (Beating the eggs incorporates air, adding lightness to the pie, but too much mixing releases that air!)
- Press remaining water from the spinach in the colander. (You can use the bottom of a Pyrex measuring cup.)
- Place spinach on cutting board and coarsely chop.
- Add chopped spinach to mixing bowl with egg & cheese mixture, and mix very gently.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Brush 9" x 13" Pyrex baking dish with olive oil.
- Spread 2 layers of fillo dough in pan and brush lightly with oil.
- Ladle one-third of the spinach mixture into the baking dish and spread.
- Cover with one layer of fillo dough and brush with oil.
- Repeat the two steps above.
- Ladle the remaining third of spinach mixture into the dish.
- Cover with 2 layers of dough and brush lightly with oil.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. (The crust should turn golden brown.)
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Calories per serving: 275
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