Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 pounds of feta cheese, drained of any excess liquid and crumbled.
Lemon zest
Ricotta cheese (optional)
Nutmeg (optional)
Cinnamon (optional)
Spinach (optional. Adding spinach makes these spanakopita)
3 eggs, beaten
1 stick or so of butter, melted.
1 pound of phyllo pastry sheets. Completely thaw the phyllo in the refrigerator and in its packaging if it was frozen.
Oven preheated to 425 degrees.
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**Here's another version with 7 layers of phyllo on each side of the feta cheese mix.
1 (16 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
5 eggs, beaten
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup butter, melted
1 (16 ounce) package frozen phyllo pastry, thawed in refrigerator
Brush melted butter onto one sheet of phyllo dough at a time, and layer them in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish until you have 7 sheets. Let the sheets rest up against the sides of the dish as well. Spread the cheese mixture over the phyllo layers, then repeat the process with 7 more sheets, tucking in the sides around the edges.
Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown and crisp. Cut into squares and serve warm.
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Directions: |
Directions:Gina took a decent amount of feta and added some ricotta (you can also use cream cheese or cottage cheese. I think it was about 1/2 and 1/2. Mix in a ratio to your taste preference, I would say.)
Mix these together. You can add a touch of cinnamon if you wish, and/or a touch of nutmeg. We did not use lemon zest, but it sounds like a good addition.
Add enough eggs to the above mix to make it all come together, but not so many to make the mixture yellow.
You want to work quickly with the phyllo - so it doesn't dry out. So let it thaw in fridge and then work quickly with it when when the feta mix is ready.
Take a baking dish and brush the bottom with melted butter. Add three layers of phyllo (this is the easy version, you can do one sheet of phyllo at a time if you wish and butter between layers). Brush with melted butter. Add the feta mix and spread evenly across pan.
Then add three more sheets of phyllo and brush with butter (or do a layer at a time). Bake at 425 degrees for...until lightly brown - this took about 20 or so minutes.
Cut into squares and eat. |
This recipe for Tiropita and Variations on the Theme is from