Spanakopita

                                                        Sitto's Spanakopita
Your brunch dish for a big gathering of family is here. Sitto’s recipe is ginormous, so I’ve cut it down a good bit and changed up her ratios some (a little more cheese plus cream cheese, a less spinach). You can double this recipe and use a sheet pan with the large-size phyllo dough (about 14”x18”) if you like. Make the spanakopita ahead and fully bake it, or leave it unbaked in the refrigerator for a day, and bake it when you’re ready. If you do bake it ahead, reheat it in the oven at 350°F. Sitto makes it clear with red ink: bake the pie before cutting it into squares! Makes 12 servings.

Ingredients
1 8 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/3 pound feta cheese, crumbled (buy a block and crumble it yourself)
1/2 pound small-curd cottage cheese
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs, lightly whisked
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 teaspoons kosher salt
few grinds black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 cup clarified butter, melted
1 pound package frozen phyllo dough, 9”x14”, thawed to room temperature, unopened until just before using

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350°F.

Squeeze the spinach in the sink to remove as much liquid as possible.

In a large bowl, stir the feta cheese, cottage cheese, and cream cheese until well incorporated (it helps to stir the room-temp cream cheese in a small bowl first to loosen it and smooth it out).

Add the eggs and stir to combine. Stir in the scallions, spinach, salt, pepper, and dill.

Remove the phyllo from its wrapping and gently unfold it. Trim the long side by an inch so it will fit into a 13” x 9” x 2”-inch glass or metal (not dark) pan. Cover the phyllo stack with a damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out.

Brush the bottom of the pan with a bit of the clarified butter. Lay one sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the pan and dab it with the butter. Lay another sheet over this one and butter it, repeating this with 8 more sheets (or half of the phyllo stack).

Spread the filling over the phyllo, and layer the remaining phyllo sheets on top, brushing butter over each layer, including the top layer.

Bake the pie for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool for about 10 minutes.Use a sharp knife to cut the pie into squares, and serve warm.