Spanakopita triangles
Flaky phyllo folded around spinach, feta and dill, and they freeze beautifully, so you can bake them straight from the freezer.
- 80 min total
- 50 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 12
- About $0.90 a serving
- 180 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 12 servings.
- 16 phyllo sheets, thawed in the fridge overnight
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 large egg
- 3 green onions
- 2 tbsp fresh dill
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
Each serving has about 180 calories, 5 g protein, 10 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $0.90 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F and line two with .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Squeeze the thawed spinach by the handful over the sink until it’s as dry as you can get it.
Dolly’s tip: Wet spinach makes soggy pastry. Squeeze, then squeeze again.the green onions and the dill.
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
the spinach, feta, egg, green onions, dill, nutmeg and pepper together in a bowl until evenly mixed.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Unroll the phyllo and cover the stack with plastic wrap, then a damp kitchen towel.
Dolly’s tip: Phyllo dries out and cracks within minutes in the open air. Keep the stack covered and take one sheet at a time.Lay one sheet on the counter, brush it lightly with oil, lay a second sheet on top, and brush that too.
Cut the stack into 3 long strips.
Lengthwise. Lengthwise means cutting along the long side, from stem to tip, which gives long pieces. Crosswise is the other way, straight across the middle, which gives short, round ones.
How you’ll know: Lengthwise halves of a zucchini look like two little canoes; crosswise pieces look like coins.
Put a tablespoon of filling at the bottom of each strip, fold one corner over it to make a triangle, and keep up the strip like a flag.
Heaping. Heaping means a rounded mound piled above the rim of the spoon or cup, not leveled off. It’s a little more than the measure, on purpose.
How you’ll know: The pile sits above the edge of the spoon, and you leave it there instead of scraping it flat.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Dolly’s tip: Tears are fine. The next fold covers them, and the oil glues everything shut.Set the triangles seam side down on the pans, brush the tops with oil, and repeat with the rest of the phyllo and filling.
Dolly’s tip: Freeze them unbaked on the pans, then bag them. Bake from frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes.20 to 25 minutes, until deep and and the filling is steaming hot.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 22 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Let them cool 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: They can sit out up to 2 hours.Food safety: Food with mayonnaise, dairy, eggs, cooked meat or cream, like dips, salads and cream desserts, can sit out for 2 hours at most, or 1 hour above 90°F. Keep cold food in the fridge or on ice until serving, and hot food at 140°F or hotter.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
