Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds of fresh spinach
1/2 bunch of swiss chard
1 leek
2 tablespoons, plus 1/4 cup of olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
4 eggs
1/2 pound feta cheese
1/2 pound cottage cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound butter
1 pound thawed phyllo dough
Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Rinse the spinach in several changes of water.
Drain and spin dry.
Chop the spinach coarsely.
Remove the stems from the swiss chard and wash, dry, and chop as for the spinach.
Cut the leek in half and separate the layers under running water to remove dirt.
Chop the leek coarsely.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large pan.
Add the leek and onion and cook for about 7 minutes, until translucent.
Add the spinach and swiss chard and cook until both begin to wilt (this will just take a few minutes).
Add the dill, toss to mix, and set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs.
Crumble the feta cheese and add it to the eggs along with the cottage cheese and pepper.
Add the eggs to the spinach mixture (when it has cooled) and mix thoroughly.
Combine the butter and the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and melt together over low heat.
Unroll the thawed sheets of phyllo dough and arrange the phyllo dough, the spinach mixture, and the melted butter in your workspace so that they are all within arm's reach.
Using a pastry brush and working as quickly as possible, brush the top sheet of phyllo with the butter mixture.
Add a large spoonful of the spinach filling to one of the corners of the dough closest to you.
Bring the corner of the dough up and over the mixture towards the opposite side so that you have a triangular shape covering the filling.
Continue folding away from you in a triangular pattern until you reach the end of the sheet of dough, tucking in any loose ends.
You should brush some extra butter onto the triangle as you are folding it so that you never have two sides of dry dough touching each other.
Repeat this process until all of the dough or spinach mixture is used up.
Note: The completed triangle should measure approximately 5 inches along the diagonal.
Depending on the size and shape of the phyllo sheets, you may have to do some creative folding to tuck in every loose end.
Arrange the spanakopita triangles on a baking pan.
Brush the tops of each with a little extra butter.
Bake in the oven until lightly browned (about 12-15 minutes).
These can be served hot or at room temperature.
Makes about 10-15 triangles
