Rustic Spanakopita

Homemade spanakopita just got easier. With a puff pastry crust, this rustic version is quick, easy, and tastes like a flaky crust spinach and cheese pizza.

Have you been stalking me on Instagram as I tackle my summer to-do list? If so then you know that tonight I’m going to see Real Madrid play Paris Saint-Germain! Ohio State’s American Football schedule may be right around the corner (woohoo!) but in the meantime I’m gonna enjoy some futball! A few friends are attending as well but we all bought our tickets at separate times so I’m not entirely sure how close our seats are together, but oh well.

This soccer game as absolutely nothing to do with this recipe today, however. Maaaaybe if it was a Greek team playing I could make some sort of lame attempt to connect to two but I’m not even gonna pretend – I just didn’t have anything else on my mind to talk about so I told you about my plans tonight. Stalk away (good luck trying to find me, although my bright purple hair might make it easier).

But in all seriousness, this spanakoptia is superior. Why? Because I originally was going to make a more classic version, inspired by this month’s Book Club Cookbook Cooking Crew invitation to cook a dish from Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières. But then I decided that I wanted to limit the time I spent in the kitchen, cut the recipe in half, and used puff pastry instead of phyllo dough. Because it’s easier. And my laziness paid off because this little rustic spanakopita tart looking thing was magical. Think of it as a flaky-crust spinach and cheese pizza.

One year ago: Three Cheese and Swiss Chard Pasta Bake Cake

Five years ago: BBQ Chicken Burgers

RUSTIC SPANAKOPITA

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

3 scallions

6 oz. small curd cottage cheese

4 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1 egg

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 tsp Greek seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp lemon pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 sheet (1/2 pkg.) frozen puff pastry, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
2. Thaw the spinach and drain in a colander.Squeeze out excess moisture. Roll spinach in a clean dish towel and wring dry. Place in a large bowl.
3. Chop the green and white parts of scallions separately. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet and saute the scallion whites until soft, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in scallion greens. Add to the spinach along with the cottage cheese and feta.
4. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the egg briefly. Add the cream cheese and continue to beat until smooth. Add to spinach mixture.
5. To assemble, roll out the puff pastry dough on the baking sheet. Place spinach mixture in the center and spread out into a circle, leaving at least 1 inch of dough on the edges. Fold dough over the spinach mixture allowing a majority of the center to be visible. Melt the last tablespoon of butter and brush on the edges. Bake for 25-30 or until edges are golden and center is set.

Source: Adapted from The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.

Here we are at the final #thebookclubcookbookCC event. Final. Can you believe it??

It’s hard to fathom that our year-long journey to explore – and cook from – The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp* is drawing to a close. Judy, Vicki, and their publisher, Tarcher-Penguin, provided the hosting bloggers with copies of the book plus copies to giveaway each month of the project. We are so grateful for their generosity over the past year.