Greek Spinach Pie

Just go ahead and add this recipe to your try list. This Greek Spinach Pie was so delicious. It is so flavorful, and a great meal for any time. I found this recipe on Pinterest at Crispy Greek-style Pie. I also included some bacon, which added so much more flavor. I paired this with a Caesar salad and finished off the meal with some baklava. You're really going to want to try this.

200 g spinach (one bag plus a handful more)
175 g sundries tomatoes in olive oil
100 g feta cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup bacon pieces
1/2 pack phyllo pastry

Put the spinach in a large pot with 2-3 Tbsps of water and cook until wilted.

Drain spinach. Allow to cool; squeeze excess water; and then  chop as desired. Add to bowl with feta, eggs, tomatoes, and bacon. Stir.

Place a piece of parchment in pie plate. Layer one piece of fillo into the pie plate. Brush with oil from tomatoes jar.

Add another piece of fillo slightly offset from the first, and then brush that layer with oil. Place one or two more layers, brushed with oil and offset until fillo completely surrounds the pie plate. Spoon filling into the pie plate.

Fold edges over (add one or two more pieces of fillo if you need to). Brush top with olive oil.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve and enjoy!!!

Baklava

Bakalava. Flaky patry. Slightly sweetened cinnamon-y nut filling, sweet honey drizzle. There's just not much better than baklava. That's why I decided I wanted to find a good recipe and try making it from scratch. I did a good bit of research and learned quite a bit about this delicacy. While most of us probably think of Greek cuisine, baklava, in fact, originated in the Ottoman Empire, and the word itself is Arabic. The variations found in baklava will indicate where the recipe originated. I won't go into all the history, but which nuts are used, what is used to create the syrup all indicate the region of origin. I finally settled on this recipe: Easy Baklava. I liked the idea of using various nuts, so I went with a mixture of walnuts, pecans, almonds, and hazelnuts. I always imagined baklava was very difficult to make, and I've always heard about how hard it is to work with phyllo dough. Honestly, while this was a bit time consuming (to do it right anyway), it really was rather easy!

Pastry

1 lb mixed nuts, chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
16 oz package phyllo dough
1 cup butter, melted

Syrup

1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1⁄2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest, grated

To ensure a smooth process, make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Toss together cinnamon and nuts. Unroll phyllo and cut whole stack in half to fit the dish, if needed. The dough I got was already cut for a 9X13. Cover phyllo with a damp cloth while assembling the baklava, to keep it from drying out.

Place two sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the prepared dish. Brush generously with butter. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the nut mixture on top. 

Repeat layers until all ingredients are used, ending with about 6 sheets of phyllo. 

Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into desired shapes. I had a little trouble with this part, I think, because I buttered the top layer before cutting. The phyllo kept sticking to my knife. Lesson learned. :-)

Bake in preheated oven 50 minutes, until golden and crisp. While baklava is baking, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. 

Stir in honey, vanilla and lemon zest, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove the baklava from the oven and immediately spoon the syrup over it. 

Let cool completely before serving. I ended up adding just a bit extra honey to the baklava before serving. Just added a little bit more oomph to it. Store in an airtight container.