Lunch Week 11: Spanakopita

So every Sunday, I head over to the kitchen to whip up a big batch of food for lunch next week. Yes, I brown bag. And I almost always do it, unless I become too busy to even buy cold cuts from the deli. I do it for several reasons being health, finance, and laziness. Now, you may think that spending hours on a day off to prep and cook five meals at once is hardly lazy. But let me remind you, I hate it when the time comes to decide what to eat for lunch every day. I work in Midtown so the choices are endless. My problem, the more choices, the harder it is for me. So it's much easier for me to have my lunch ready and already decided.

So my lunch for the week: Spanakopita

Going Greek this two weeks ago with Spanakopita on the menu. A mixture of spinach and feta cheese stuffed in delicate layers of phyllo dough. However, to mix it up a bit, I made some with sauteed mushrooms and scallions as well.
For the base ingredient, I used chopped frozen spinach. You may choose to use fresh but please keep in mind that it takes a lot of fresh spinach to get the amount you'll need for this dish. The frozen kind is much more cost effective and you'll hardly notice any difference. Here, I have defrosted the greens and squeezed out as much liquid as I could with my hands.

And here is the feta cheese, crumbled. A nice creamy and sharp cheese that counters the bitterness of the spinach.

I mixed these together with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

I also sauteed some baby bella mushrooms until cooked through.

And chopped up some raw scallions for a nice onion-y bite.

And now the phyllo dough. You can find packs of these in the freezer aisle in your local market. Keep frozen until the day before you're ready to use it. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight until ready to use. Then take one delicate sheet off the top and toss away. It's usually too mangled to use. Take the second piece and lay it on top of your work surface. With a pastry brush, spread melted butter on top from corner to corner. Repeat 2 times until you have 3 layers of buttered phyllo dough on top of each other.

Place a large mound of the spinach and feta mixture in one corner.

Then fold over creating a pocket. Be careful not to rip the dough. Then fold over again to the right. Lastly, fold any edges over to create a nice tight triangular pocket. I like to tuck the corners in as well but that's just personal.

Place on a butter sheet pan until ready to bake.

Then into the oven at 375oF for about 30-45 minutes until golden brown.

And there you go. Your own pocket of goodness for lunch. I made these specifically so each spanakopita would be enough for one person. I have seen it made into a log then sliced. But this was much easier and less messy.

As for the flavor, it was just okay. I think it needed more seasoning. Maybe next time I will saute the spinach in garlic and oil for more flavor. Otherwise, I was very happy with the texture. The spanakopita pockets with the mushrooms and scallions were good as well. The mushrooms added meatiness to the dish which was more filling. I would like to experiment with other ingredients next time.