This is a dish that always, always gets praising that I lately decided not to be modest about and claim that I am excellent at making it. :-)
Spinach pie is a traditional greek dish with limitless variations. I believe everyone involved in cooking has his/her own success recipe and the internet is full of them. My two pennies to this abundance is a tailor made one with ingredients easily found in norwegian market. I had to develop a new variation when I moved here which ended up being a completely different recipe compared to my mum's.
Several reasons for this; here the frozen spinach has a horrible amount of water in it, to use fresh one to make this pie will just increase the cost exponentially. The feta cheese, which may be in the filling, is again so very expensive that it's a complete waste to eat it in any other way but raw. Last but not least for the lazy me, you can find only one type of ready made dough that works compared to the three different types that are available in the greek market. Well, one can make his own dough but as I said I am too lazy for that.
So what you need for the filling;
Olive oil
Leek 1-2
Onions 1-2
Garlic
Champion mushrooms ( I'm afraid the amount is random but approximately a little more than half of this paper bag for mushrooms)
Salt
Black pepper
Frozen spinach (1 or 2 packages, the pie in the pictures is made with 2)
Dill
Yogurt or rømme (300gr I use the greek yogurt in the 1kg box that comes from Sweden)
For the dough I use Kassandra filo that I buy from the ethnic shop close to Torget. The filo needs to be in room temperature and be removed from the plastic just before you put it on the oven pan. Otherwise either breaks if it is still frozen (big time)or gets dry and later tastes like paper if left standing in the air for too long.
Chop leek, garlic and onions and fry them in plenty of super hot olive oil. When golden and soft add the mushrooms cut in thin slices. If needed use more oil. The idea is to fry them not to let them boil. When they change colour add the spinach frozen, salt, pepper and a good amount of dill. Let it cook for a while till the filling has turned into a thick but not dry mixture. The spinach should not really boil. Remove from heat and add the yogurt.
Oil a pan, apply the filo so that it covers the pan as in the picture above. Between each layer add some oil. Each filo must be in contact with some oil but be modest, otherwise it will get very heavy as a dish afterwards. Use a bit less filo that half of the package and then add 1/3 of the filling. Spread it evenly. Add a filo or two and pour the other 1/3. Add again 1or 2 filo. You can use all the broken pieces of filo in this stage. It doesn't really matter. If you realize that the filling is too liquid, use a bit more of filo or add in the filling a spoon of semolina to adsorb the extra water.
Add the final portion of the filling, cover with the rest of the filo making sure you add a bit of oil if the filo has no contact with any liquid. Hide inside the pie the filo that it's on the sides of the pan. Apply the final one (for which you can save the most intact one). Use a bit of oil on the surface, too. Spread sesame seeds. Bake it in pre-heated oven at 180-200C for 30 -40 minutes? something like that. I usually put it first at the lower position in the oven and towards the end I place it higher.
Good luck and enjoy!
I hope the photos help as the step description might be a bit poor.
It is so difficult to describe something that has become an automatic action!!!
