Spanakopita

Okay... this stuff is seriously good!!
The crust is yummy and crispy and crunchy and light as air.
Feta cheese and spinach are so good together!
Very traditional Greek street food.

A note:
Working with phyllo dough is not hard at all so don't be intimidated. In fact its very forgiving and you can hide any mistakes or patch up any tears easily. The trick is to keep the pastry that you are not working with covered with a moist (not wet) kitchen towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle, that's all.

There are many ways to make this.
Some like to make individual triangles, some like to bake it like lasagna. I happen to like it rolled up so that's what I'll explain here.

(Will make 2 loaves enough for 4 ppl)
(Prep time: 1 hr)

Ingredients
Chopped spinach 16 oz bag (all the water should be squeezed out)
Scallions 3-4 chopped fine
Garlic 1/2 tsp chopped fine
Egg 1 large lightly beaten
Feta cheese crumbled 1 cup
Dill 2 Tbs chopped
Parsley 2 Tbs chopped
Parmesan cheese 1 tsp (optional)
Bread crumbs1 tsp (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil or PAM olive oil
Phyllo dough
Pepper 1/4 tsp
Salt
1 egg white mixed well with 1 tsp water and maybe a pinch of salt (this will be used as egg wash later)

Method
First step...
Defrost the phyllo according to package instructions.
I used plain old frozen phyllo pastry that you get from a grocery store, it's pretty decent. But if someone knows where to get fresh phyllo in Seattle, please let me know :-)

Sauté the scallions for a min or two in some olive oil.
Add the garlic, sauté for another 30 seconds.
Mix in the spinach and cook for 2 mins, allow this to cool down.
Take out the spinach in a large bowl and add the herbs, feta cheese, egg, salt and pepper.
The mixture should be at room temperature before assembly.

Pour some olive oil in a small bowl and keep a pastry brush handy.
Dust your work surface lightly with flour.
Peel off gently, a sheet of pastry and lay it flat on your work surface.
The single most important thing you can do here is to keep unused pastry covered at all times with a lightly moist cloth or kitchen towel.
Brush olive oil all over the phyllo with a pastry brush, be gentle.
You can also use PAM, that saves time.
Don't fret if the corners are crooked or if there is a big hole or a crack, these won't matter as you build more layers of pastry on top.
Now peel off another sheet of pastry and lay it on top of the first and brush with oil.
Repeat.
I like doing 6 layers at least.
This next step is optional.
When you reach halfway to the 3rd layer brush with oil and then sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and/or bread crumbs. Doing this adds an unexpected layer of flavor.Add 3 more layers.Alrighty...
So now you have 6 layers of phyllo sheets all set up.
If you want to, you can take a sharp knife and trim the corners and make it neat.
Take the spinach mixture - leave about an inch of space from the longer edge - and spread it along length of the phyllo pastry.
Tuck the sides in and roll it like a log.
Brush some egg wash on top.
Make a few cuts diagonally spaced 2 inches apart so the steam can escape while baking.
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.
Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 35-40 mins or until the crust is all nice and goldeny.
Let it rest for 20 mins before cutting.
I like slicing it at a bias along the vent cuts.Ta da!
:-)