Spanakopita is a Greek spinach pie with layers of paper-thin phyllo dough, spinach, feta cheese and lots of butter. Plus a few tricks that Vasiliki’s mom Nikki provided for us. Thanks, mom!!

I don't know how I got this lucky, but a beautiful Greek woman is coming to my house to make her mom's spanakopita recipe today for our family holiday party tomorrow. Spanakopita is a delicious spinach pie and I'm gonna share the recipe with you, because, Merry Christmas.

1 pkg. phyllo dough, thawed according to package directions (this can take 24 hours, please check!)
32 oz. of fresh spinach
4 bunches of scallions
1 lb imported feta
3 Tbsp. chopped dill
3 sticks of melted butter. Maybe more.
One healthy pinch of black pepper
Olive oil

FOR THE FILLING: We start by chopping the spinach and scallions and placing in a large bowl. Then the feta gets crumbled and added to the mix. Next comes the dill, pepper and a swig of olive oil. By the way, I did none of this, I watched these two have at it and took pictures. The other lovely lady is my daughter-in-law, the fabulous Sheri, who is besties with Vasiliki.

Preparing the filling is most of the work, until the layers of dough and butter come into play. Fortunately, I have help.

Once the filling is done it is time to assemble. We unwrap the package of phyllo dough (Vasiliki's mom makes her own, but we did not today) and place a sheet in a buttered 9" x 13" pan. Butter gets brushed on top of that sheet, then we repeat 8 times until there is 9 layers of buttered phyllo on the bottom. Then we add the filling, and 9 layers of buttered phyllo on top of that. We trim the excess dough, poke a few holes in the top with a knife for the steam to escape and then bake in a 400 degree oven for an hour until it looks golden brown and delicious like the main picture.

Notice how serious she gets when it is assembly time, no screwing around. And the fact that she arrived in an elf suit? Stop it!!

Since we are having this tomorrow, I refrigerate it and will warm it up, or serve at room temperature depending on how frazzled I am. Super fun to do with two of my favorite people. Try it sometime! And whatever you celebrate, enjoy!

The finished product in all its glory!! Gonna cut it into diamond shapes. On the bias. Can’t wait to try some tomorrow.

Vasiliki's Mom's Spanakopita Recipe