Spinach & Feta Phyllo Pie

The recipe my grandmother and mom thought me; the most impressive and flavorful pastry in the Balkan region.

Time to read: 7 mins | Time to make: 3 hours | Yields: 10 servings

Ingredients

PHYLLO DOUGH

• 700 g of white wheat flour

• 200 g of whole wheat flour

• 100 g of buckwheat flour

• 3 teaspoons (

  14 g) salt

• 3 tablespoons (

  21g)

  oil

• 550ml - 650ml lukewarm water

• additional oil for coating the dough and greasing the baking sheet
  

FILLING 1

• 350 g fresh spinach, finely chopped

• 200 g cheese (10% mm)

• 500 g feta cheese

• 4 eggs

• salt

FILLING 2

• 2 large potatoes, peeled

• half onion, chopped

• salt

• plenty of pepper

FILLING 3

• Mushrooms

• Leeks

• salt
  

Few baking sheets, preferably round, a rolling pin, an old tablecloth

Make Dough

1. Sift flour, add salt and oil, and slowly add water while mixing with your hands.

2. Knead with your hands in a bowl. The dough should be softer and slightly stick to your hands. If you make it too hard (more flour), it will be tough later on and will be very difficult to stretch.

3. Divide the dough into 6 parts and knead each one for at least 3 minutes.

4. Then coat the noodles with a little oil to prevent the formation of dry crust. Cover with plastic film or a kitchen towel and leave to rest. Let them rest for at least half an hour. Sometimes we make them in the evening and leave them to rest overnight until the morning when we roll them out and fill them.

Prepare the fillings

1. For the first filling, just mix well all the ingredients.

2. For the second filling, grate the potatoes and chop the onion, and season with salt and a lot of black pepper. Potatoes turn black quickly in contact with air, so it is best to prepare the filling just before you stuff the dough. Until then, keep the peeled potatoes submerged in water.

3. For the third filling, chop mushrooms and leeks and pan fry for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft.

After the dough has rested, the most interesting part begins.

Stretching and filling the crust

1.  Place one of the dough pieces on a floured work surface and sprinkle it with a little flour.

2. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into as thin a disk.

3. Then lift the dough with your hands and grab the edges so that the rest of the dough stretches under the influence of gravity (the dough's own weight stretches the dough to one side)

4. When you feel it is stretched enough in the hands, lay the dough on the prepared tablecloth.

5. Grease the tips of your fingers with oil and stretch the ends of the dough, which usually remain the thickest.

1. When the desired thickness is reached, spray the dough with oil. If you like pie very juicy, then of course, add additional oil.

2. Now, take your prepared fillings and fill the dough along the edges - like in the picture. With the help of a tablecloth, roll the fillings towards the middle of the crust. You will have two large rolls, which you will twist into rolls like in the picture, or you will make a big snail out of several rolls.

1. Arrange pies in a greased baking tray. Put a little oil on top of each roll.

2. Preheat the oven to 480° F (250° C). Place the pie into the oven and right away reduce the temperature to 400° F (200° C), and bake for about 25-30 minutes.

3. Spray the baked pie with a little water and cover it with a clean kitchen towel for ten minutes.

4. Serve with European-style yogurt, and dig in!

Nutritional facts - enjoy life a little.

Just kidding, please reach out if curious.

Dara making pie for her friends on Thanksgiving day in Boston - year 2011.