Vegan Diaries - Spanakopita

I tried this Vegan Spanakopita from Veggies Don't Bite and was blown away by the taste.  I couldn't believe how the "feta filling" was so similar to the real feta filling that is used to make this dish.  Oh, and cutting the spanakopita prior to cooking?  GENIUS!    Check out Veggies Don't Bite's site for more tips and some beautiful pictures.

Oh...I didn't tell the family that it was vegan.  I told them it was a new recipe.  Somehow adding vegan or vegetarian to the name of a meal gives it some type of negative vibe to my family.  By not telling them, they actually enjoyed this spanakopita.  It disappeared pretty quickly!  And, no, I didn't tell them and I don't plan on it, so...keep quiet!

Here's the recipe:


Vegan Spanakopita
taken from Veggies Don't Bite

ingredients:
12oz chopped, fresh spinach
8 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup dill
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper
Olive oil
phyllo dough  (sold in box in freezer section in sheets)
1/3 cup olive oil


"Feta filling":
1 cup cashews, soak overnight or boil for 25 minutes to soften.  rinse and set aside.
2 TBSP white vinegar
1 TBSP water
3/4 tsp sea salt, may need more...taste and add more if needed

directions:
Oven 350F
Saute green onions in oil until soft.
Add spinach and pepper and sauce until wilted.  Turn off heat
Add dill, parsley and mix well.  Set aside.
In food processor, add cashews, vinegar, water and salt.  Pulse until you reach a chunky texture.
Pour cashew mix over spinach and mix well.
Using a 9x13 baking dish, brush bottom and sides with oil.  Line pan with half of phyllo sheet.  Brush with oil and then flip the half on top of the sheet.  (The sheets are much larger than the dish, so this is the easiest way to utilize the phyllo sheets).  Brush top of sheet with oil.  Keep this up until half of the sheets have been used.
Once half of sheets have been used, add the spinach/feta mixture and spread across baking dish.  Making sure that you get into the corners.
Top with the remaining phyllo, using the method above.
Cut into squares before putting into the oven.
Bake for 60-70 minutes.  Check at around 50 minutes, to see how things are going.  Ovens do vary with cooking time.
Let cool for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.


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Having the spanakopita pre-cut is wonderful.  No more struggling with the knife sending phyllo dough everywhere.

Add as much or as little salt as you want.  This should be to your taste.

If you try it, let me know what you think.

Enjoy!