Recipe: Learn to Make Almond Restaurant's Spanikopita

Learn to make Chef Jason Weiner of Almond Restaurant’s spanakopita! This dish is often found as a specialty item at both the restaurant and their L&W Market, but now you can make it at home as well! It is currently peak spinach season, and the restaurant sources theirs from Marilee Foster of Foster Farms.

Almond Restaurant is located at 1 Ocean Road in Bridgehampton. Visit almondrestaurant.com

Almond Individual Spanikopita

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 pounds spinach (32 ounces). Mariee Foster usually has some gorgeous stuff
2 large eggs
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 ¼ cups crumbled feta (6 ounces)
½ cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
8 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Directions

In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, scallions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes.

In batches, stir in spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Spread on to a cookie sheet and cool mixture in the refrigerator. When cool wring out excess liquid in kitchen towel or apron.

Place spinach mixture, eggs, yogurt, and cheeses in a food processor.  Pulse until just incorporated.  Do not puree.

Preheat oven to 425° F. Lightly grease 4 small casserole dishes with butter.  On a clean work surface Lay one-half sheet of phyllo dough in baking dish. Using a pastry brush, brush dough with butter. Repeat 7 more times to form crust. Now cut the filo in four even quarter lengthwise. Lay each strip of phyllo in the casserole dishes with the dough hanging off the edges. Add the spinach mixture on top of the phyllo in each dish.

Press the mixture down gently and add as much as comfortably fits. Now take the dough that’s hangings off the edges of the casseroles and fold over the top of the spinach mixture.

If you have excess dough, snip off with a pair of scissors. Brush the tops with butter.

Bake until crust is lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm.