The Easy Holiday Appetizer Everyone Asks Me For | Greek Spanakopita Phyllo Braid

Get the full printable recipe here: https://www.dimitrasdishes.com/spanakopita-phyllo-braid-makes-2-greek-spinach-and-feta-braid/

Ingredients
For the filling

10 ounces baby spinach, chopped
8 ounces (226 g) cream cheese, softened
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg
½ teaspoon dried dill
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 to 2 scallions, finely sliced
For the phyllo and assembly
20 to 24 sheets #4 phyllo, thawed overnight and kept covered
6 to 8 ounces (170 to 225 g) melted unsalted butter, for brushing, or about ½ to ⅔ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, optional, for topping
Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the filling by stirring the softened cream cheese until smooth, then mix in the chopped spinach, feta, egg, olive oil, dill, salt, pepper, and scallions until evenly combined; taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Unwrap the phyllo and keep it covered with a barely damp towel. Divide the phyllo into two stacks of 10 to 12 sheets each to make two braids.
Assemble the first braid by laying one sheet of phyllo on the parchment and brushing it lightly with melted butter or olive oil. Repeat to build a stack of 10 to 12 sheets, brushing each sheet.
Spoon half of the filling down the center of the stacked phyllo lengthwise, leaving about 2 inches bare at the short ends. Using a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts along both long sides of the phyllo, 1 to 1½ inches apart, to create strips for braiding. Fold the short ends over the filling, then alternately cross the strips over the filling to form a braid. Brush the top lightly.
Repeat with the remaining phyllo and filling to form the second braid. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top if using. Chill the tray in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes to help the layers set.
Bake on the center rack for 35 to 45 minutes until deeply golden and crisp; ovens vary, so check at 30 minutes and continue until the pastry is well colored and the filling is hot. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
Cool 10 minutes before slicing with a serrated knife. Serve warm or at room temperature with tzatziki.

Notes
If using frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze very dry, then measure 10 ounces.
Keep phyllo covered as you work and brush lightly so the layers stay crisp.
Make ahead by assembling and chilling until firm, then wrap well and freeze up to 3 weeks. Bake from frozen at 375°F (190°C) for about 45 to 55 minutes until deeply golden and hot in the center.
Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated; re-crisp in a 325°F (165°C) oven for a few minutes.

Music Used:
Greek Sun Time (With Intro)
ITEM ID: 66582698
By: tonyanthony

Its All Greek
ITEM ID: 84456733
By: LowNotes

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Hi everyone to another episode of Dimitra’s Dishes. Today I have a beautiful appetizer idea for you. If you’re hosting a special dinner, maybe around the holidays or just want to bring something really beautiful to a dinner party that you’re going to, then you’ll want to stay tuned for my spanacopita filo braid. This is beautiful. Has all of the flavor of spanacopita with a fresh spinach and herb and cheese filling. And then it’s wrapped up in buttery layery crispy filo. It looks like it took hours to make, but I’ll show you an easy way to do it. Let’s get started. Okay, we’re going to begin by making the spanacopita filling. So, in my mixing bowl over here that’s fitted with the paddle attachment, I’ll add 8 oz or 226 g of cream cheese that’s at room temperature, so it’s nice and soft. And just bead it a little bit so it breaks up. Next, go in and add one egg. Make sure that the egg is at room temperature, too. And beat that all together. And then thinly slice some scallions, about four of them. Thinly slice them. And add just the green parts in. And then start adding the spinach leaves a little bit at a time. I’m using baby spinach leaves. They’re already washed and dried really well. About 10 to 12 ounces of them are going to go in. And the mixer is just going to mix them really well and kind of break them up just a little bit. Half a teaspoon of dill, half a teaspoon of salt, some freshly cracked black pepper. I also added a little bit of olive oil. I forgot to mention that. Two to three tablespoons of it. So once everything is mixed together, we’re going to add some feta cheese. Just crumble it in. About eight ounces of good quality feta. With this recipe, you can go with the less expensive feta and use cow’s milk feta. It won’t be as creamy, but it’s going to bake anyway, so you can definitely cut the cost with this recipe. And crumble it in. Just always buy block feta and crumble it in yourself because the taste is superior. So, crumble the feta in and once it’s incorporated, you can turn the mixer off. Go in with your spatula and mix everything so that way it’s all well incorporated. And now we’re going to assemble the the braids. So, this recipe makes two braids. We’re going to utilize one whole pack of felo. Each pack of filo, that’s number four, one pound felo, it has about 24 sheets in there. Sometimes it has 20. So, start with 10 layers for the first one. And if you have extra for the other one, that’s not a problem. Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. This is going to make the braid easy to transfer onto the baking tray. And then we’re going to layer 10 to 12 sheets of felo. Brush each sheet with butter just right on top of the parchment paper. And then add half of the spanacopita filling down the center of the pastry sheets. Cut slits about 13 of them on each side. And then we’re going to crisscross them to create a braid just over each other to cover the filo. Just like that. Carefully lift the parchment paper and place it on the baking pan. And you can form the other spanakopita braid in the same exact way. If you’re not going to be baking both of them on the same day, then you can freeze the one that you’re not baking and it’ll keep fresh in the freezer one to two months. So once it’s frozen solid, make sure that you cover it with plastic wrap so that way it doesn’t absorb freezer odors. And then you can just take it out and bake it as you need it until it’s nice and golden. Brush the tops of the braids with the melted butter. And the oven should be preheated to 350° Fahrenheit. This is going to bake on the center rack for 45 or 50 minutes until it’s nice and golden and crisp all around. Once it comes out of the oven, let it sit for about 10 minutes to settle. And when you slice into it, you’ll see how buttery and crispy the outside is, how juicy and fresh the filling is. It’s so good. And it’s ready to serve. And there you have it. My spanacquita filo braid is ready. It is so beautiful. It’s just stunning to look at. It’s golden and crisp on the outside, buttery, and then so delicate and cheesy. And then this filling is delicious. Of course, we all love spanacopita. You get all of that flavor and then it’s beautiful to look at as well. I hope you guys give this recipe a try. They freeze beautifully. So, definitely make more. Keep them in the freezer before you bake them and then you can bake them off until they’re golden and crisp as you need them. I hope you love it as much as I do. You can print the recipe out on the website demezdishes.com. Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I’ll see you all next time. Yes, us.