Spinach Pie Recipe

Ever since I was little, spinach has been one of my favorite vegetables.  Yes, it is a strange vegetable for a child to enjoy eating, but for some reason I loved it.  I guess Popeye had a big influence on me.  I love finding new recipes to enjoy my favorite leafy green vegetable.  When reading through my beloved Ina Garten cook books, I came across her spinach pie recipe.  Of course, this page had a few tags on it for me to remember to make this recipe.  Well friends, the day finally came and let’s just say it was heavenly. 

The flakey phyllo dough surrounding the pie is light and buttery.  The inside of the pie contains the spinach accented by nutmeg, crunchy pignoli nuts, and salty feta cheese.  The combination of flavors is amazing, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from Ina Garten.

Spinach Pie Recipe

Recipe from Ina Garten

Serves 8

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

6 extra-large eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons grated nutmeg

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs

1/2 pound good feta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts)

1/4 pound salted butter, melted

6 sheets phyllo dough, defrosted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium sauté pan on medium heat, sauté the onions with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.

Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. Put the spinach into a bowl and then gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, feta, and pignoli.

Butter a 8-inch pie pan and line it with 6 stacked sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter and letting the edges hang over the pan. Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the phyllo and neatly fold the edges up and over the top to seal in the filling. Brush the top well with melted butter.

Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.