Description
I serve these at all of my parties. They can be made ahead, frozen and cooked when you need them! Make sure the filo dough is defrosted before you start. Just put the frozen filo in your refrigerator the day before.
Ingredients
- ½ pounds Fresh Baby Spinach
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion, Finely Chopped
- 2 cloves Minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Agave Nectar
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces, weight Goat Or Sheep’s Milk Feta (I Use Mt. Vikos)
- 8 ounces, weight Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Large Egg
- ¼ cups Chopped Fresh Dill
- ¼ cups Chopped Fresh Parsley
- 1 stick Melted Butter
- ½ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 pound Thawed Filo Dough (1 Package Should Be Roughly Forty 9″ X 14″ Filo Sheets)
Preparation
Heat a Dutch oven on medium heat, do not add oil. Coarsely chop fresh spinach and place it in the Dutch oven. Add a bit of salt (about 1/2 teaspoon or so). Cook spinach by gently stirring until wilted. Then remove it from the Dutch oven and place it in a colander to drain.
Meanwhile, add one tablespoon olive oil to Dutch oven. Heat oil on medium and add onion, garlic, a splash of agave nectar, a pinch of salt, and some grated black pepper. Stir to combine. Turn down heat to low. Slowly cook for about ten minutes or so to get the onions soft and starting to caramelize.
Combine feta, ricotta, and egg in the bowl of your food processor or blender and pulse to combine.
In a large bowl combine drained spinach, onion mixture, blended cheese mixture, chopped dill and parsley. Season with more salt and pepper if desired.
For the assembly:
Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Just heat for a few seconds until fully melted, then add olive oil. Mix together.
Open thawed filo carton. There should be two packages in the box. Open one package. Place the dough on the counter and cover with a paper towel or parchment paper.
Take the top sheet, lay it on the counter and brush with butter and oil mixture. I use a clean paint brush. Place one more sheet on top of first sheet. Brush with butter/oil.
Fold the stack of dough into thirds lengthwise. You should have a two-three inch strip approximately 14 inches long. Brush the top of the strip with butter/oil. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of spinach mixture on top, centered at the bottom of one end. Roll filo up into alternating triangles, like folding a flag. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling mixture.
They can be frozen at this point. I just put them in a freezer bag, with the air removed. Or you can go ahead a bake them! Preheat oven to 375 F if you are going to bake them now.
To bake: Brush tops with butter/oil. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets. Cook for 20-25 minutes (maybe a bit more if they are frozen) until golden brown.
