Recipe: Greek Spinach Pie (using fresh spinach and ricotta or cottage cheese)

GREEK SPINACH PIE

1/2 pound butter, divided use
7 to 8 cups blanched spinach, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
6 large eggs
2 lbs ricotta or cottage cheese
1/2 to 1 lb crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb filo dough (if frozen, thaw to room temperature)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a large frying pan and saute onions until soft.

Add spinach, then turn up heat and cook until all moisture is gone. Remove mixture from heat. Melt remaining butter in a small pan.

Beat eggs and mix in cheeses. Add spinach mixture; season with salt and pepper.

Carefully spread the filo dough out flat and cover with a moistened dish towel so that the separate sheets don't become brittle.

Butter a 13x9-inch baking pan and place a sheet of the dough on the bottom of the pan. Brush lightly with melted butter and continue layering sheets of dough, buttering each sheet until you have a stack of 10. The dough should just fit the pan. If it doesn't tuck in any excess dough, it doesn't have to be terribly neat. Spread the spinach mixture evenly on top and stack with another 10 sheets of dough, buttering them as before.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes; turn oven down to 350 degrees F for an additional 30 minutes. If the top layer begins to get too dark, cover with foil.

Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

Adapted from source: Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash