I hope everyone is enjoying their Wednesday. I came across another Greek recipe that my family has been making for a very long time. It is a bit similar to spanakopita, but this one doesn’t have any cheese. I love the flavors of the spinach and the herbs. Enjoy and I apologize for not posting a picture of this, due to our air conditioning being broken and I cannot turn the oven on. (That is being fixed as I type this.)

Hortopitakia Recipe-

Prep Time- 45 minutes

Cook Time- 8 minutes

Ingredients:                   

1 pound of spinach washed and chopped

1 pound of fresh fennel, chopped

1 white onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup of olive oil- save a bit more for frying

1/2 cup of water

1 bunch of dill- chopped

2 tsp of cumin

Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

You can use phyllo or puff pastry. (1 pound of phyllo or 2 pounds of puff pastry.)

Flour for the working surface

Directions:

To make the filling, sauté the fennel and the onion in the oil until the onion is translucent. Add the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 20 minutes and then add spinach, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered over medium heat until the spinach is soft, about 5 minutes. Now drain very well, remove all excess liquids. Add in the dill, cumin and garlic.

If using homemade phyllo dough, take a piece and roll it out to the thickness of 4 sheets. If using puff pastry or phyllo, store bought, roll it out to the same thickness.

Directions for homemade phyllo-To form the pies, work on a lightly floured surface with dry hands. Using a circular guide, cut out a circle of dough. Next place a spoonful of the spinach mixture on one side of the circle. Fold the other half of the circle over to form a half circle shape. Using a fork, pinch the edges all the way to seal the dough. (You can always wet fingers a bit to help seal.)

Directions for commercial phyllo:

Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and make sure to bring to room temperature before opening the package. Cut the phyllo sheets lengthwise into 3 inch strips. You can cut several sheets. Place a small square at one end of the phyllo strip and place a teaspoon of filling on the square.  Fold into a triangle. Continue to re peat the process until the dough and filling are all used up.

In a medium to large frying pan, heat 1.3 inch of oil over medium heat. Fry to a light golden on both sides. Remove all the excess oil, and place on a plate or baking rack layered with paper towels.

* You can serve it with fresh Tzatziki.

Kali Orexi!