Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to blog for the past week, but what can I say…it’s the most wonderful time of the year:-).

I wanted to create a different chef special this week so I decided to make spanakopita a Greek meze, which consists of spinach and cheese wrapped in filo dough pastry and then baked until puffy and golden brown. In my version, I like to drizzle the pastry with warm honey (to balance out the pungent flavor of the cheeses) and then serve it with a salad of baby mixed greens, arugula, toy-box tomatoes, shaved red onion, crumbled feta cheese, tossed in a lemon-oregano vinaigrette—it’s awesome!!

Filo dough is really versatile. You can stuff it, fold it, wrap it and fill it with almost anything including meat, fish, cheese and yes fruit or chocolate.   However, when working with filo dough, it’s really important that once you open the box and remove the dough from the plastic lining that you cover it immediately with towels or it will dry out in minutes and become unusable.

It’s hard for me to describe in writing how to make the filo triangles even though they are really easy to make. So if you’re interested, I’ll be more than happy to respond to any emails with specifics in more detail. But first, you need to make the filling. Sauté finely minced onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Place in a bowl and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, blanch spinach and wrap in a towel to remove any excess moisture, finely chop the spinach and add to the onion mixture. For the cheese, I like to use three different Greek cheeses such as feta, kasseri, and kefalotyri (if you can’t find kefalotyri cheese, then you can substitute shredded parmesan.)  Next add chopped fresh mint, salt and pepper to taste and a raw whole egg.  Mix all the ingredients together—you should end up with a thick, somewhat dry consistency. To fill the filo, use a small ice cream scoop or pipe the mixture onto the filo.

Once the triangles are assembled, chill completely until firm and then bake in a 400 degree oven until puffy, crisp and golden. When finished, drizzle with warmed honey and serve!