Spanakopita

Funny name; simple enough to make.

Spanakopita

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1,25 kg [3#] fresh spinach
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• olive oil
  
• salt
• 400 gr [15 oz] feta cheese
  
• 350 gr [12 oz] cottage cheese
• 5 eggs
• 2 T flour
  
• 1/2 C fresh dill
  
• 1/2 C fresh basil
• 1 entire package filo pastry dough [phyllo]
  

Procedure

1. Trim the ends and wash the spinach
2. Put into a really really big pot with a tiny bit of oil, some salt in the bottom and wilt the spinach until it's all soft
   
3. Oil into a pan and sauté the onions
   
4. Squeeze excess liquid from the spinach (maybe chop it up a little bit)
   
5. Mix the cheeses and eggs (lumps of feta cheese are okay); mix in the onions; flour
   
6. Mix with the spinach
   
7. Lay 1/2 the filo dough into an oven sized baking pan; with the sheets hanging over the outside edges of the pan
   
8. Spoon in the spinach mix
9. Top with dill and basil (lots of it)
10. Top with other 1/2 of the filo dough sheets
11. Fold the outside edges of the filo layers over the top of the whole thing
    
12. Bake: 180 C [375 F] for 40 minutes or until brown (time is, of course, approximate)
    

Done

Notes

1. The filo dough is not layer and buttered, sheet by sheet, as in the usual recipe for this dish- - it's put in all in a clump.
   

Good warm or cold; keeps well for the next day, and the next.

Spinach with Garlic, Cream and Coriander

Very french; it's got butter and cream in it. Note: cream is good for you. Fats encourages the uptake of calcium (according to a Swedish study) - and reduces weight gain. Don't know how the to are related but them's the facts.

The pic includes the duck - tomorrow's recipe. Note the soft green sauce around the spinach - lovely.

Spinach with Garlic, Cream and Coriander

Serves: 2 (or 3 or 4 - depending)

Ingredients

• 60 gr [2 oz] butter (see notes)
• 500 gr [1#] fresh spinach (baby leaves if you can get 'em; if you can't, and have to devein the spinach you'll need about 750 grams)
• 1 t coriander, ground
• 3 garlic cloves
• ¼ C cream (whipping, whole, full, 30%) (the real stuff)
• salt
• pepper, black, fresh ground
  

Procedure

1. Crush garlic, set aside
2. Butter into a pan, hot
3. Add spinach & stir
   • 5 minutes. It will wilt and magically release its liquids
4. Crank heat to high
5. Add garlic & coriander & cream
• Reduce until the liquids are gone
6. salt & pepper it
7. Serve - now

Notes

1. Work with cumin as well as coriander
   
2. Clean the spinach if it's not prewashed. Maybe wash it again anyway
3. If it's not baby spinach remove the veins
4. It starts as a huge pile of spinach but reduces quite nicely
5. Make this mediterranean-style by substituting olive oil for the butter
6. This takes maybe 12 minutes all told to make if you have everything at hand; make it at the last minute
7. It's a lot of coriander flavor - if you're timid use a small teaspoon
8. Use enough salt salt and pepper; it keeps the coriander from overwhelming the dish

Recipe source: Le Cordon Bleu: Quick & Light; with virtually no alteration
Tags: spinach
Edited 25-09 to tweak the specifics