2 lb Fresh spinach; stems removed
1/3 c Pine nuts
4 tb Olive oil
1 md Onion; chopped
2 ts Dried oregano leaves
1 lb Cottage cheese; lowfat
1/2 lb Feta cheese; crumbled
3 lg Eggs
16 Sheets phyllo dough; thawed
-if frozen
2 sl Firm white bread; into fine
-crumbs
Rinse spinach leaves well with cold water and toss in colander to remove
all but the water that clings to the leaves; set spinach aside.
In 5-quart saucepot, heat pine nuts over medium heat until lightly browned,
stirring constantly. Transfer to small bowl; set aside. In same pot, add
half of spinach; cook and stir until wilted–about 5 minutes. Transfer
spinach to strainer placed over a bowl to let drain and cool. Repeat to
cook remaining half of spinach.
In same pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion and oregano;
saute 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in pine nuts, cottage cheese,
and feta cheese until well combined. Stir in eggs until mixed. Squeeze
spinach, a handful at a time, to remove any remaining liquid. Chop
well-drained spinach and stir into cheese mixtrue. Set spinach mixture
aside.
Heat oven to 375F. Grease a 13-by9-inch baking pan. To assemble pie, place
phyllo leaves between 2 sheets of waxed paper, then cover with damp towel.
(Phyllo dries out very quickly, so be sure to cover remaining leaves with
damp towel each time you remove a sheet.) Remove one phyllo leaf and place
in pan; brush lightly with some of remaining oil. Sprinkle with scant 1
tablespoon bread crumbs. Because the bottom of pan is smaller than the top,
fold one short edge of phyllo in by an inch to fit pan bottom. Working
quickly, stack 7 more leaves, lightly oiling each and sprinkling all except
the last one with bread crumbs.
Spread spinach filling evenly on top of phyllo in pan. Continue to oil,
sprinkle with crumbs (except the last on), and stack remaining 8 leaves of
phyllo on top of filling. Lightly oil top leaf of phyllo. With tip of sharp
knife, score top sheets of phyllo, dividing pie into 8 portions, to
facilitate cutting after baking.
Bake spinach pie 35 minutes or until filling is firm and top is dark
golden. Cook at least 15 minutes before serving. To serve, cut along
prescored lines.
NOTES : When paired with a tomato salad, this popular spinach-and-cheese
dish with pine nuts becomes a complete meal.
Yields
8 Servings
