Spinach Artichoke Phyllo Pie

 

You could call this a Spanokopita pie, but how many of you can slip that into everyday conversation?
Yep, let's keep things real.
Spinach Artichoke Phyllo (filo?) pie it is.
This one is real easy and makes an impressive show too.

Do you like Greek Food too?
Here's some more links to my collection of Greek recipes.
Hey, I am not Greek heritage, but I would like to be...  Going on to my third trip to Greece this Fall and looking forward to trying new foods and get inspiration to share.

A couple of NOTES:
- You could use part feta and part Parmesan, I mean, why not?
- You could use a couple of boxes of thawed, drained frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh.  I have unnatural aversion to frozen spinach... I dunno why.  You can do what you like.
- Use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese.  We usually have cottage cheese, which is why I used it.
- You could omit the canned artichokes hearts altogether (but why?...), or used frozen ones instead.

Makes 1 pie, serves 6-8
Ingredients

1/2 a 16 oz package of frozen Filo Dough

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

2 egg, beaten

About 10 oz of Fresh Spinach, chopped

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1-2 clove garlic

4-6 oz crumbled feta cheese
3 Tbsp breadcrumbs

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (I love Cavender's Greek Seasoning)

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt.

 Preheat oven to 375. Get a baking sheet and a pie plate out.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add diced onion and cook until translucent. Add spinach and cook until heated through. Remove and let cool slightly.  Here's my baby spinach below, slightly chopped before cooking.

In a pot of boiling water, add the chopped spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes, just enough to wilt it.  Drain well and let cool while you prep the rest of the recipe.
 

In a bowl combine spinach mixture, garlic, cottage cheese, feta, seasoning, pepper and salt.

To assemble, lay two filo sheets vertically in the pie plate on a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter. Take two more filo sheets and turn them so that they are at the 11:00 and 5:00 positions. Continue to arrange filo sheets in a clockwork fashion. Butter the tops of each new pair of filo dough as you go. When all sheets have been used, place spinach mixture in the center and spread out into a circle. Carefully fold phyllo over the edge of the spinach mixture making a ruffle in the center. Butter the edges. Bake for about 45  minutes or until edges are golden and center is set.  Let cool a bit, then cut into wedges and enjoy.

 

Simple Mushroom Bisque

Cauliflower adds a soft and silky texture to this mushroom soup.  It almost seems like there is heavy cream in this one, but no dairy at all! I'd even go as far to say that this soup is low calorie too, which may just be a good idea as Summer shorts and swim suits are in our future.

 There's something very satisfying about this soup. I made a large pot of this one rainy night and used the leftovers for lunches.  Enjoy!

Makes about 6-8 cups
Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil (or butter)
1/2 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
1/2 cup celery chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped 
2 lbs of mushrooms
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped (optional)
8 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
Dash of hot sauce (if desired)
Salt & Pepper

Saute the onions, celery and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about4-5 minutes.  Add in the mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked and starting to brown on the edges.  Add the cauliflower and 6 cups of the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.

Let cool a couple of minutes and add to a blender.  Blend until smooth.  You may have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your blender.  Be sure to process until quite smooth.  Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of hot sauce, if desired. If needed, add the additional stock (remaining 2 cups) to thin the soup to the consistency you want, I like my mushroom soup on the thin side.

Note, be sure to cover the blender lid with a kitchen towel as sometimes hot liquids can expand when you start to blend.

Below is a photo of the cauliflower, I put the unused cauliflower into a bowl, ready to use for a quick vegetable side dish later in the week.

Sauteing the veggies.

The broth is added and simmering to cook the cauliflower.