Saute scallions and onions in butter.
Mix cooked chopped spinach, feta, ricotta, and cottage cheese in a bowl. (He used frozen chopped spinach, thawed it, soaked it in a bowl of water, and then squeezed handfuls of spinach to get all the water out before putting the spinach in the bowl. If you use water logged spinach, your pie will be soggy!)
Add sauteed mixture to the filling.
Add eggs.
Stir it all together.
Here's my assistant at home, putting a pie together.
Don't fuss with the filo dough. On a greased pan with sides, just put layers of filo overlapping the edges of your pan, drizzling each layer olive oil (use a pastry brush dipped in a bowl of oil), and put more layers.
You don't even have to brush the oil on, just drizzle it so it looks like its just starting to rain. And keep going layering sheets.
When you have 5 or 6 layers, spread out half the filling.
Then cover the filling with two more layers drizzled with olive oil, then put the rest of the filling. Cover with as many more layers as you want, anywhere from 2-6!
When you run out of filo, simply fold the edges back over the pie so the spinach filling is enclosed in the center of the pie. Brush the folded edges down into the top of the pie lightly with olive oil, and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, first at 395, turning down to 385 after 10 minutes.
Let cool for 20 minutes after removing from the oven. Remove pie from pan with two spatulas onto a cutting board, or overturn the pie plate onto the cutting board. Slice into wedges or squares, as big or as small as you like.
Serve Spanakopita with Greek salad: lettuce, bell peppers, red onion, scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, kalmata olives, feta cheese and a dressing of red wine vinegar, a little lemon, olive oil, and dried oregano.
This recipe makes a giant pie. I love a giant pie for two reasons. I love being able to invite guests over spontaneously. "Come over! I have Greek spinach pie!" And second, the pie toasts up perfectly in the oven for up to 4 days. It makes really great ready-made lunches and dinners!
