Evgenia’s Spanakopita
Thea Evgenia was one of my mum’s besties. They would hang around Rosebud, taking walks along the beach, swapping recipes and generally covering lots of things as besties do! I’ve always had a soft spot for this Thea.
At every family function, I make a bee-line to Thea Evgenia’s spanakopita. It is amazing! So it goes without saying that I would ask Thea Evgenia (Jenny) to show me how she makes it.
Evgenia along with so many women of her generation came to Australia young and on their own from Greece. She was only 21 when she arrived from Mytilini and by 23 she was married and had her daughter, Chrys. She learned most of her cooking through friends and she is one of the best cooks I know. Evgenia also told me that she learned how to make pita here and not from Greece but what she does know from Mytilini is the bourekia which she promised to show me next time!
Although it is a spanakopita, Evgenia uses all sorts of greens, some from her garden others are wild greens cut from the side of the road (horta). You will also notice in the recipe below that she doesn’t put any feta in her pita, that allows you to taste the many layers of those greens.
Recipe
Thea Evgenia’s Spanakopita
Dough (makes for 2 pites)
6 cups plain flour
1tsp salt
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cup of warm water
250g butter melted
extra flour for rolling the dough
Filling
6 eggs
500g baby spinach (or any similar greens of choice)
2tbs Pecorino or other hard cheeses
cracked pepper
Directions
Wash spinach and let in drain all excess liquid
Sift flour in a big bowl
Make a well and add salt, vinegar, olive oil and add water slowly mixing it
Combine all the ingredients and form a neat ball
Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is nice and soft
Divide dough into 4 individual balls and let them rest for about an hour
Roll out each ball into a rectangular shape, butter and fold, repeat process until it forms a small cube-like pastry
Let it rest in the fridge
Roll out on a floured surface into a thin round pastry, and line the oiled tray with one filo. Add the spinach mixture and top with the other filo sheet, loosely
With a knife, cut the top layer, that will allow the mixture to cook and release any steam.
Cook in the pre-heated oven for an hour on 180°
Hint: Thea Evgenia doesn’t cook through her spinach, she prefers everything raw when prepping. Also you can freeze the extra dough for a later date.
