My Yiayia (finally) told me her secret spanakopita ingredient

And it was worth the 10 year wait.

Spanakopita

Growing up in a big Greek family means one thing: Sundays consist of gathering around Yiayia’s table with the extended family… and eating. The menu my 90 year-old grandmother cooks varies week-to-week, but some of the usual suspects are: lemony potatoes, homemade bread, homemade hummus, baked eggplant, some sort of legume dish to cater to the vego family members, slow-roasted lamb or chicken and, of course, spanakopita.

Pastitsio and moussaka only make an appearance on very special occasions, like Christmas or Easter. Aside from bread and salad, there aren’t many dishes that get to secure a permanent weekly spot on the table. However, spanakopita is the exception. There’s just something about the cheesy spinach filling and pastry that could never get old. 

Secret spanakopita ingredient, revealed 

Most family members have tried to replicate her famous spanakopita, and it just never tastes the same. Only recently we realised every family member had a slightly different version of this recipe – this is classic Yiayia behaviour, as whenever we ask her for a recipe, she never seems to reveal the whole thing. Instead, we have to play detective and piece together the method and ingredients bit by bit (over the span of years). 

Determined to get all her spanakopita secrets, I finally convinced her to let me film her cooking it, from the start to finish. I shared it with the family, and everyone was shocked that she didn’t tell anyone the one game-changing ingredient: a very small amount of rice. 

What makes this spanakopita so good?

The elements that make this spanakopita stand out among the rest is the perfectly balanced flavours in the herby, cheesy filling. If you’ve made it before, you know the bottom layer of pastry can go soggy (especially after a day or two). Enter the secret ingredient: a tablespoon of rice. This clever addition absorbs the excess moisture from the spinach and gives it a full bodied texture. Other key ingredients include lots of herbs – way more than I thought. Half a bunch of parsley, mint and dill are added, along with plenty of cooked onion and shallot for sweetness, freshly grated nutmeg, and surprisingly, there’s no garlic!

Spanakopita steps

Much to my suprise, she has now given me the green light to share her recipe…. with the internet.

My Yiayia’s spanakopita recipe:

Serves 8

Prep 20 mins

Cook 45 mins

• 3 sheets frozen puff or shortcrust pastry, thawed (or filo pastry, see notes)
• 60ml (¼ cup) olive oil 
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 bunch green shallots, finely chopped
• 2 large bunches English spinach, trimmed, chopped 
• ½ bunch continental parsley, finely chopped
• ½ bunch mint, finely chopped
• 10g punnet dill, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 80g haloumi or tasty cheese, grated
• 180g block feta, crumbled
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 tbsp uncooked white long-grain rice 

1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan-forced. Lightly grease a 20 x 30cm slice pan. Line base and sides of the pan  with 1 ½ pastry sheets, trimming edges to fit. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. 
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and shallots. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is soft and translucent. 
3. Meanwhile, place spinach in a colander and pour over boiling water. Using a wooden spoon, press as much liquid from spinach mixture as possible. 
4. Transfer spinach to a large bowl. Add the herbs, nutmeg, cheeses, onion mixture, eggs and rice. Season with pepper and mix well to combine.
5. Spoon the spinach mixture into pastry case and top with remaining pastry sheets, trimming the edges to fit. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
6. Cut spanakopita into squares. Serve warm or cold.

Note: You can also use a 375g packet filo pastry, if preferred. Follow the below steps if using filo:

1. Melt 100g of butter. Place 1 pastry sheet on workbench. Brush with a little of the butter. Top with 2 pastry sheets. Brush with a little more butter. Continue to layer pastry, brushing every second layer with butter, to form 10 layers. Use pastry layers to line base of baking dish. Spoon spinach mixture over pastry. 
2. Using remaining 10 pastry sheets and butter, repeat the above step. Use pastry layers to cover spinach filling. Brush top with butter. 

Spanakopita recipe

Can you freeze spanakopita?

Spanakopita freezes very well, just wrap the uncooked dish in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil (alternatively, make the spanakopita in a disposable baking tray). You can also freeze spanakopita after it’s cooked. Cut into portions and place on a tray in the freezer until partially frozen. Then transfer to a freezer bag where they can be reheated as individual portions for a snack or light meal.

More spanakopita-inspired recipes:

• Zucchini slice spanakopita
• Traditional spanakopita recipe
• Spanakopita pasta bake

Originally published as My Yiayia (finally) told me her secret spanakopita ingredient