Spinach Pie and Peach Crisp

My mom makes this amazing spinach pie that I absolutely love. I have always like spanikopita and this is just a big version of it. The crisp and crunchy outside with soft spinach and cheesy center makes a great combination. Since it makes such a large serving size I was waiting until there were more than the 2 of us to eat it. Jason’s Dad lives here as well but is still getting the house together so we decided to have him over for dinner. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out the recipe and have another person to eat some.

Spinach Pie

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

3 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

6 extra-large eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons grated nutmeg

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 Tablespoons dry plain breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat)

½ lb feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used low fat)

½ cup pine nuts (pignoli)

¼ lb salted butter, melted (I used unsalted)

6 sheets phyllo dough, defrosted

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. In a medium sauté pan on medium heat, sauté the onions with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.
   
3. Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. Put the spinach into a bowl and then gently mix in the onions, egg, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, feta and pignoli.
   
4. Butter an ovenproof, non-stick, 8-inch sauté pan and line it with 6 stacked sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter and letting the edges hang over the pan.
   
5. Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the phyllo and neatly fold the edges up and over the top to seal in the filling. I had to add an extra piece to the top since the edges didn’t meet all the way.
   
6. Brush the top well with melted butter.
   
7. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set.
   
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Source: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Of course no meal is complete without dessert. And you definitely need dessert when having company so this was a good excuse. Normally, I make this with blueberries but since J doesn’t like that I tried it with peaches and it turned out pretty well. It wasn’t too sweet and I love the crunchy top with the warm filling. You can also mix peaches with raspeberries.

Peach Crisp

Ingredients:

4 cups sliced peaches (I used a bag of frozen, defrosted peaches and 1 fresh)

¾ cups brown sugar, packed

½ cup All Purpose Flour

½ cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ teaspoon Cinnamon

¼ teaspoon Nutmeg

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2.    Grease bottom and sides of a square 8x8x2 pan

3.    Spread the peaches in a pan

4.    Mix remaining ingredients and spread over peaches.

5.    Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden and peaches are bubbling.