Spanakopita (Spinach and Cheese Pie)

Make the filling. Squeeze excess moisture from the spinach in a towel or with your hands. Get as much liquid out of the spinach as possible. Discard water. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large frypan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté about 2 minutes or until soft and translucent but not browned. 

Add parsley, dill, spinach from step 1 to the frypan and sauté for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside until cool to the touch. Then mix in beaten eggs and set aside.

Prepare the crust. On a cutting board, unroll filo (or phyllo) sheets and separate it into two stacks, a stack of  14 sheets, and another stack of 10 sheets. For the stack of 10 sheets, cut into two sizes, 9” x 9” and 5” x 9” size sheets. Cover filo with plastic wrap and top with slightly damp paper towel to prevent it from drying out.

Coat cake pan with oil mixture. Melt 1/4 cup butter and 5 tablespoon olive oil to make the oil mixture. Brush the bottom and sides of the cake pan.

Line the cake pan. From the stack of 14 filo (or phyllo) sheets, take a sheet and line the pan. Center the sheet so that it covers the sides of the pan, then brush on oil mixture. Add another sheet crosswise, and brush with oil mixture. Place the 12 remaining sheets in the same alternating manner and brush each layer with oil mixture. 

Take the ten 5” x 9” size sheets, and place each sheet in the same alternating manner to add additional layers to the base of the cake pan. 

Add the filling. Evenly spread the spinach filling from Step 3 over the filo (or phyllo) layers, then evenly top with feta cheese and dried mint.

Cover filling with a 9” x 9” filo (or phyllo) sheet. Take the rest of the filo (or phyllo), brush each sheet with oil mixture and cover the filling. Brush top of the final layer with oil mixture. Fold over the excess from the sides and pinch along the edges. Brush the edges well with oil mixture.

Score the top layers with a sharp knife to make 9 pieces.

Bake the spanakopita. Place the rack of the Micom Toaster Oven (ET-ZLC30) on the lower rail. Turn the Dial to select BAKE. Set the temperature and time to 350ºF and 35 minutes, and press the OK Button to start preheating. 

When preheating completes, place the cake pan in the toaster oven, and press the OK Button to start cooking. Be careful of the heated rack. Bake until the crust turns golden brown.