Spanakopita Makes 9 or 10 individual pies or 1 9x9 pan (puff pastry, 2 thick sheets). To use a larger pan, double the filling recipe. 1 pound frozen chopped spinach 1 onion, chopped finely 6-8 green onions, chopped (optional) 5 oz feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup) 16 oz ricotta cheese (approx) 2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan 3-4 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, minced (1/4 cup max, else too sharp) 2 tablespoons fresh or dried dill 1 generous pinch of nutmeg Half a 16 oz. box of phyllo pastry, thawed (more for smaller sized pies) OR... a 17.3 oz box with 2 (thick) sheets of puff pastry (Pepp. Farm) 2-3 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt fresh ground black pepper Pull the dough, spinach and feta to thaw. Puff pastry takes 40 minutes max; Phyllo takes 4 hours or overnight in fridge. Spinach takes 3-4 hours. Feta takes maybe 30 minutes. Mince the onion and chop the green onions. Saute in no. 8 skillet with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil until soft, maybe 5-6 minutes. Drain the spinach very well. Put in a colander and use your fist to squeeze the liquid out. This step is extremely important to avoid a soggy filling. Mince the parsley and dill. When the onion mixture is soft, turn off the skillet. Put onion into large bowl. Add the spinach, and "chop" the mixture up to combine it evenly. Add the dill, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix. Add the feta and parmesan. Mix until homogeneous. Finally, add the ricotta in little spoonfuls and mix. At this point you can refrigerate the filling until an hour before serving. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Individual pies method: Take out the phyllo dough and unroll until it's flat. Do not use a wet cloth to prevent the phyllo from drying out or it will dissolve the dough. Set out a cookie sheet. Put a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a small bowl and get out a pastry brush. If you want large pies, take out 9 or 10 sheets of phyllo and store the rest. If you want smaller pies, use more phyllo. Take one sheet of dough at a time and add one of the portions of filling, then roll it up into the shape of your choice, brush it with oil all over, and put it on the cookie sheet. Repeat until they are all done. Bake for 30 minutes and serve. (20 minutes for small ones) Single pan method: Thaw full box of puff pastry and put pastry top and bottom of a 9x9" pan, or thaw half a box of puff pastry and put pastry on top of a 9x9" pan. Put one of the 2 thick sheets in a 9x9 Pyrex pan. Work it into the corners. Add all of the filling and spread it out to an even thickness. Put the other thick sheet on top, crimp down the edges, brush with olive oil (or cut dough and arrange to fit pan). Bake for 45 minutes or more. NOTES: Safeway carries 1 pound bags of frozen chopped spinach. DK Market is by far the cheapest place to buy fresh parsley and dill. Ricotta comes in 15 or 16 ounce containers. Use half and freeze half. Winco carries fillo dough in 1 lb boxes but they have 2 rolls in them and each sheet is much thinner. 40 sheets per pound instead of 18. The box from Safeway had 23 sheets. Lately we've been buying Pepperidge Farm puff pastry which has 2 thick sheets each a bit larger than 9x9". Crispy Phyllo method 1 pound (#4) phyllo pastry at room temperature 4 ounces (1 stick) salted butter, melted 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 1 pound spinach leaves, coarsely chopped 3 teaspoons dried dill 6 scallions, thinly sliced (1 bunch) 15 ounces ricotta cheese 1 pound feta cheese, crumbled 3 eggs 3-4 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper Preheat the oven to 400 °F In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that is fitted with the paddle attachment add the feta and ricotta cheese. Add the dill, salt, pepper, olive oil, and the scallions. Mix until combined. Add the spinach in a few batches until combined. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Combine the eggs ina small bowl and whisk them together. Add the eggs to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until incorporated. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs into a half sheet pan to create an even layer. Take a stack of 3 sheets of phyllo and place it in the pan to cover the bottom and let the rest of the stack hang over the side of the pan. Drizzle the top sheet with some melted butter. Place 2 sheets half in the pan and half hanging outside of the pan on all four sides of the pan. Drizzle butter between the layers. Spread the filling inside of the phyllo sheets. All of the sheets that are hanging outside of the pan should go over the filling. Place all of the filling inside of the phyllo and fold the phyllo that is hanging outside of the pan over the filling brushing butter in between the layers. Reserve 6-7 sheets of phyllo for the topping and place the remaining sheets over the filling. Drizzle with some butter. Take one sheet at a time and crinkle it like an accordion and place it on top. Continue creating accordions and place them side by side until the top is covered. Drizzle with butter and score into pieces. Pour the remaining melted butter on top and brush all around. Bake the pie on the center rack for 50-60 minutes until golden all around. Don't let it get too dark, but you want it quite brown. Allow the pie to rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes and then serve.