Driven by the free-spirited music of the 1970s, Shirleigh Moog’s technicolor cookbook Moog’s Musical Eatery: A Guide to Carefree Entertaining documents groovy recipes and helpful cooking tips she employed to feed famous musicians — and her family members.
“This is a delicate cheese and vegetable pie with a flaky, buttered crust. Swiss chard can be substituted for the spinach.”
Greek Spinach Pie
Recipe by Shirleigh Moog. Courtesy of Michelle Moog-Koussa.
Yield: 6-8 servings.
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup onion, minced
¼ cup scallions, minced
2 pounds fresh spinach, washed, drained, and minced, or 2 boxes of frozen, chopped spinach, well drained
2 tablespoons dried dill weed
¼ cup minced parsley
½ teaspoon salt
Ground pepper to taste
⅓ cup milk
½ pound feta cheese, finely crumbled
4 eggs, lightly beaten
½ pound butter, melted
16 sheets (½ pound) filo pastry, each about 12 x 16 inches
In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and scallions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in spinach and cover, cooking 5 more minutes.
Add dill, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Transfer spinach mixture to a deep bowl and stir in milk.
Cool to room temperature and add cheese. Beat in eggs slowly.
Preheat oven to 300º.
With a pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides of a 2 x 7 x 12-inch baking dish with melted butter. Line dish with a sheet of filo folded in half to 8 x 12 inches, firmly pressing the edges of the pastry into the corners and against the sides of the dish. Brush the sheet with 2 or 3 teaspoons of melted butter, being careful to spread the butter over the entire sheet. Repeat process with 7 more filo sheets.
Spread spinach mixture over the eighth filo sheet.
Place 8 more sheets over spinach, repeating the buttering of each sheet as you did for the bottom layer. Brush the top of the pie with remaining butter.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour, until the pastry is crisp.
Cut into squares and serve hot with a dry white or Greek retsina wine.
Note: Filo leaves can usually be purchased by the pound in Greek grocery stores. They are also very good for making strudel.
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