Greektown Heritage Festival July 27
(FOX 2) - Metro Detroit's Greek community is getting ready to celebrate. The Greektown Heritage Festival is Saturday, July 27 in downtown Detroit.
The Greektown Heritage Festival is a celebration of food, music and culture along Monroe Street in the heart of Detroit's most vibrant neighborhood for dining and entertainment. It's from noon - 9 p.m. You can get more information on the festival online here.
Christina Hapipis and Benamin Odom from The Greek joined us on The Nine to tell us more about Greek cooking. You can hear from them in the video player above, and get their recipe below.
SPANAKOPITA / SPINACH PIE
Spanakopita or spinach pie, is a Greek savory pastry. The traditional filling comprises chopped spinach, feta cheese, onions or spring onions, egg, and seasoning. It's a great side dish to lamb or other meats, but it can also be the main dish.
FOR THE SPINACH AND FETA FILLING
16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
2 bunches flat-leaf parsley, stems trimmed, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 eggs
10.5 oz quality feta cheese, crumbled
2 tsp dried dill weed
Freshly-ground black pepper
FOR THE CRUST
1 16 oz package phyllo dough (#4 pastry sheets), properly thawed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, more if needed
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Before you begin mixing the filling, be sure the spinach is very well drained, and squeeze out any excess liquid by hand.
3. To make the filling: In a mixing bowl, add the spinach and the remaining filling ingredients. Stir until all is well-combined.
4. Unroll the phyllo sheets and place them between two slightly damp kitchen cloths.
5. Prepare a 9 1/2″ X 13″ baking dish. Brush the bottom and sides of the dish with olive oil.
6. To assemble the spanakopita: Line the baking dish with two sheets of phyllo letting them cover the sides of the dish. Brush with olive oil. Add two more sheets in the same manner, and brush them with olive oil. Repeat until two-thirds of the phyllo is used up.
7. Now, evenly spread the spinach and feta filling over the phyllo crust. Top with two more sheets, and brush with olive oil.
8. Continue to layer the phyllo sheets, two-at-a-time, brushing with olive oil, until you have used up all the sheets. Brush the very top layer with olive oil, and sprinkle with just a few drops of water.
9. Fold the flaps or excess from the sides, you can crumble them a little. Brush the folded sides well with olive oil. Cut Spanakopita ONLY PART-WAY through into squares, or leave the cutting to later.
10. Bake in the 325 degrees F heated-oven for 1 hour, or until the phyllo crust is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven. Finish cutting into squares and serve. Enjoy!