My husband's family is Greek. His mother and grandmother are AMAZING in the kitchen. As I've gotten older, I've tried to pay attention to what their doing, the recipes, and how they make everything taste so good!
A few months back, Tim's family came over and we spent the day cooking some of our favorite Greek dishes. Tim's grandma taught us all her secrets, including her Greek Sponikopita. Her pita is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Top 5 foods, for sure!
I think her secret is in the feta. She has a 5 lb. tub of Feta she keeps in her fridge, it's magical. So, if you have that lying around.... if not, don't worry - regular feta from the store will work just fine - there is just something about Grandma's that makes it so so good.
I hope you enjoy this very special dish. It's a favorite in our house for sure!
Greek Sponikopita
1 yellow onion
3 bunch of green onions - cut up
1/4 C. olive oil, divided
7 eggs
2 Bags fresh spinach - washed and cut
1/2 C. Cream of Wheat
1 lb. feta cheese - crumbled
3 Packages of dill weed or fresh dill. Pull from middle
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. phyllo dough
1/2 lb. butter - melted
1/4 cup. olive oil
Directions:
***Make sure you thaw phyllo dough. Take out of freezer and put in refrigerator the night before.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sauté green onion and yellow onion in a 1/4 C. olive oil.
Beat eggs and set aside.
Add 1 bag of spinach to large pot. Add half dill into pot. Add 1/2 cream of wheat to mixture (this helps soak up moisture). Add half lb. of cheese. Stir together. Add 3 eggs to spinach mixture. Add half sautéed green onion mixture.
Add next bag of spinach. Add 1/2 cream of wheat to mixture. Add rest of cheese, eggs and green onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to season.
Melt 2 sticks of melted butter. Prepare 10x15 baking dish with butter. Make sure you get the whole dish. Create base of 5-6 sheets of film dough. Butter each layer. You don't want it soaking, but you don't want any dry areas. After base is created, place dough around the pan. Butter dough. Fill with spinach mixture. Fold over phyllo dough. Finish off box of phyllo dough. Butter each layer. (If you think you need more phyllo, continue with 2nd package of dough)
Score the top. Poke holes in with pairing knife. Sprinkle top of pita with cold water (so it doesn’t crack). Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Let cool. Cut into squares to serve.
Opa!
