Spanakopita
Spanakopita is one of my favorite Greek dishes. This is a guest recipe - read more below.
Ingredients
Filler
- ½ Tbsp oil of choice or 1/4 cup veggie broth (or water)
- 7 cups (2 frozen bags) spinach, thawed and drained
- ½ cup dill, chopped
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 cups leeks, sliced (white part only) or scallions
- 2 cups sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves, garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup potatoes, steamed and peeled (about 1-2 medium-sized potatoes, Yukon gold work best)
- ½ cup cashews, soaked
- ½ cup veggie broth (or warm water) - more if needed
Feta Cheese
- ½ cup cashews, soaked
- ½ date (or 1 tsp maple syrup)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup water (more if needed)
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
Bottom Crust
- 1.5 cups chickpea flour
- ¾ cup water
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Top Crust
- 3 cups potatoes, peeled and steamed (about 3-4 medium-sized potatoes, Yukon gold work best)
- 2 Tbsp cassava flour
- 2 Tbsp potato starch
- 4 Tbsp almond flour (optional, but makes it crispier)
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Soak cashews ahead of time, either overnight or for at least a few hours.
- Steam or boil peeled potatoes for about 30-40 minutes until soft. When they are finished cooking, make sure to leave them covered in the pot or steamer to keep them from cooling down, as they need to be soft for mashing later.
- While the potatoes are steaming, preheat oven to 350°F and make your bottom crust by combining the chickpea flour, water, and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour it into the baking dish (either line the dish with parchment paper or grease it with a little oil). Bake it for about 15 minutes until it is cooked through, then remove from the oven and set aside.
- As the bottom crust bakes, start your filling. In a skillet, sauté onions and leeks (or scallions) in oil or veggie broth (or water) at medium-high heat until translucent. Add the drained spinach, garlic, dill, parsley, sea salt, pepper, dried oregano and combine well. Cook for about 6 minutes. When finished cooking, drain any excess water from this mixture using a fine mesh sieve and then put it into a bowl.
- Blend or process 1/2 cup of the soaked cashews and 1 cup of the steamed potatoes with 1/2 cup water or veggie broth until smooth. Pour this over the spinach mixture in the bowl and combine well.
- Add this mixture on top of the bottom crust and spread evenly.
- Blend the remaining soaked cashews with the oregano, date, lemon juice, and water until smooth to make the “feta cheese.”
- Poke rows of holes spaced out about an inch apart in the spinach mixture with either your finger or the back of a utensil. Next, spoon in a small amount of the “feta cheese” into each hole. These will create chunks of “cheese” in your pie. If you have any remaining “cheese”, you can spread it out on top of the mixture.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes, then remove from the oven.
- While this is baking, make your top crust. In a bowl, mash 3 cups potatoes well until smooth. Add in cassava flour, potato starch, almond flour, and a pinch of salt. Combine well until the dough can be formed into a ball. If it is too dry or falling apart, add in either a little water or more mashed steamed potatoes.
- Now the tricky part is getting the top crust on. Take a small handful of the dough and flatten it out in your hands. Place it gently on top of the spinach mixture starting from a corner of the dish. Work your way adding the remaining dough on the dish by attaching small flattened amounts to each piece like a puzzle. Try to keep the thickness even throughout the crust and use the back of a spoon to gently spread over it to smooth out any cracks.
- Place the dish back in the oven and bake at 425F for about one hour until the top crust becomes golden brown. Enjoy!