Spinach-Feta Triangles
The Spinach-Feta Triangle recipe you were looking for.
“This is an awesome snack!”
“And relatively easy to make.”
“You have no excuse not to make these right now!”
“Nice beard, by the way, maybe you should shave.”
Those are the exact words I said to myself when I first stumbled across this recipe in my new, and amazing, cookbook Moosewood Restaurant Favourites (it is a GREAT recipe book, by the way, and if you are into vegetarian cooking, I totally recommend it).
I was first drawn to this recipe, because I just love spanakopita — the creaminess of the interior, the fresh herbs, the feta, the light crunch of the pastry, the self-esteem boosting.
However, my one issue with making spanakopita from scratch is just how long a process it is. As my cousin Gregory used to always say, “cooking from scratch invariably takes a long time, which is why I’m ordering in and spending time with my sheep”.
This recipe seemed to capture the flavours and textures I love from the original dish, without all of the work. I wonder how the ancient Greeks who invented spanakopita would feel. Would they see these snacks as blasphemy? I hope so, as I spend so little of my life cooking and eating things that are considered blasphemies. I would hope that those Greeks would look down on me from Mount Olympus and smile.
I can’t explain it, I am always hoping to have Greeks climb mountains and smile at me.
I was also excited by this snack’s simplicity as I had just spent the last few years making my life, and my food, overly complex. This recipe had very few ingredients, no challenges spelling or pronunciation-wise, very few steps, and a font that seemed to say “read me”.
So few fonts do that for me.
It would be totally inaccurate to say that I have always loved spinach and feta. As a kid, I wasn’t initially drawn to leafy greens or to salty cheeses and I did try and I spent an inordinate amount of time sitting next to the spinach growing up.
I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I eventually grew to love these foods and since my late teens, I have been overly enamoured with these flavours. Or should I just have said enamoured? I don’t want to send the wrong message and have you all think I am either too into these foods. Let’s just say for the sake of saying something, that I love these foods and that they are better together than apart, especially when wrapped in layers of thin filo dough and baked for 20–30 minutes or until golden brown.
I have adapted the recipe from the Moosewood book slightly as I had promised my grandmother that when I was 6. In the original recipe the snack is shaped into a log and I have chosen to make them triangles, not that I have anything against eating things in log-shapes. Quite the opposite is true — from the age of 21 to 24, I solely ate things that were either shaped like logs or consumed while sitting on a log. Once I even went as far as locating a log cabin in which to eat my toast and butter.
I just happen to appreciate food that is presented in a triangular form as so few foods are. It could be a conspiracy, or it could be a coincidence. Those are the only two options and that is how I have been living my life for years now; constantly on the watch for either conspiracies or coincidences and eating triangular foods.
It is full time work.
The other change I have brazenly made is that the original recipe title has the word “Bites” in it which I find both unnecessary and overly directive. My version gives you, the reader, the option, if you choose to make these, to do what you wish with them. I suggest that biting is one way to go, especially if out in public and you are not trying to draw too much attention to yourself.
But, biting is only one means to gain nourishment — I encourage you to be creative and to bring extra napkins.
Without further adieu, here is the recipe in all of its glory.
There is minimal glory.
But, they sure are tasty.
Ingredients
1 Lb Baby Spinach
1/2 Cup Green Onions
1 Cup Feta Cheese
Ground Black Pepper
6 Sheets Filo Pastry
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
Steps
1) Rinse, steam, squeeze, and chop the spinach (coincidently, rinse, steam, squeeze and chop are my directions for my massage therapist at the onset of our appointments together). Try to ignore that the spinach leaves are babies. It is better that way.
2) Slice green onions into very thin slices. I aim for somewhere between 1/32 of an inch and 1/16 of an inch thin, although those measurements are mostly made-up and meant to impress my legions of fans of my measurements — my cooking measurements, that is!
And while I am here — what is with recipes calling for scallions and everyone else referring to them as green onions!?!? I’ve always been confused by the pseudonym, scallions and am, frankly, a little suspicious and jealous and intrigued. In a more liberal era, I’d escape for a risque weekend down the coast with some scallions. But, green onions? What would we do together? Read a How-To Book on building shelves? Yawn.
3) Crumble your feta cheese. The feta should be seen like a thick brick wall, the last remnants of the old empire — salty and tasty and no longer needed to keep our attackers at bay. Incidentally, my uncle Max is quite the attacker, but only when the herrings are just not pickled to his level of satisfaction.
4) Combine the chopped spinach, sliced green onions, crumbled feta and powdered black pepper in a bowl. Look far off into the distance, take a knee, and mumble some words meant to inspire others. Luckily for you, they all went out so you have some time to rehearse.
5) Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Sometimes, when I am feeling especially misunderstood, I heat the oven to 380 degrees, but then the inevitable guilt kicks in, and I either turn the oven down or learn to live with the guilt. Eventually, I return the oven to 375 as that is what the filo triangles prefer.
6) Spray a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the window. Spray your wife when she cleaning the window and swearing under her breath. Consider not spraying your wife next time after she threatens to take away your stuffed animals for good this time.
7) Open the package of filo pastry. Note: this recipe only calls for 6 sheets and one package usually has 18–20 sheets. I usually do one of three things with the extra filo
a) triple the recipe and triple the metaphysical benefits!
b) reserve the rest for either a simple dessert or an overly complex dessert
c) cut into thin strips, place on my head and enjoy having long hair for a few minutes
8) Work quickly so the filo sheets don’t dry out or work slowly and enjoy watching those snobby sheets get dry like they deserve. Place a sheet on your work surface and cover the rest of the filo with a slightly damp cloth. Cut the sheet into thirds lengthwise or widthwise depending on whether you want skinnier filo to motivate you to hit the gym or slightly plumper filo to make you feel great about yourself and to justify not hitting the gym.
9) Place a heaping tablespoon of the spinach filling along the bottom of each filo strip and the fold over, alternating directions, making a triangle.
If you are unable to make a triangle, don’t worry, I believe the end results will taste the same regardless of the shape. Don’t let those food-must-be-in-triangular-shapes enthusiasts get to you. You could also roll these into logs. I challenge you to make irregular dodecagon-shaped filo bites.
Go wild! After you make these, as this requires a precision that wildness will render impossible.
Despite what you may have heard, the world is not your oyster, despite what those world-is-your-oyster enthusiasts would have you believe. You will make these and enjoy the results. The creamy and salty filling transcends shapes regardless of what those shape-enthusiasts are constantly inundating us with us
10) Bake for 20–30 minutes until golden brown. Everything, and I repeat everything, is better golden brown: filo triangles, supermodels, puppy dogs, memories, everything.
11) Transfer to a platter and serve. The aroma that will greet you is similar to the imaginary applause you hear every time you enter a room. That good. If you have friends gathered, prepare to be the life of the party. If you are alone, you don’t have to share. If you are with two small children who don’t like spinach and feta, consider playing hide and seek with them where you are just unable to find them so you can enjoy a basketball game on TV, a refreshing drink and some awesome filo triangles. Don’t let their “dad, come find us, this is getting boring and uncomfortable” cries ruin your well-earned peace and quiet.
That’s it! I told you it would be simple and I think I came through in spades in that sense. You’ll have to excuse me as I haven’t come through in spades ever before and let me tell you it took a lot of pre-planning.
In case you were wondering, a dip is not required, but if you are in a particularly dippy mood, then go listen to some classical music and read some poetry, or a nice tzatziki should work too. I find that a dip makes me feel jealous — of what or whom, I’m not totally sure.
I hope you give these snacks a try and I am not sure what I gain from you trying them…karma? kickbacks from the Feta Cheese consortium? Anyways, I almost guarantee you will love them and I totally guarantee you will like them.
