Recipe Rescue: Short Cut to Spanakopita

Spanakopita is one of my favorite thing's in the world. There is just something about the savory taste of pastry wrapped up in spinach, feta cheese, onions... every bite is like a trip to the Mediterranean.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

Here's where we take the short cut: 2 pkg of crescent rolls, olive oil for sauteing,  1 10z bag of spinach (chopped), 2 cloves of garlic, 2 leeks (chop the white part only), 1 large shallot (chopped), 1 bunch of scallions (chopped), 1 1/2 cups of feta cheese (I like to buy the container of crumbled feta), 1 cup of ricotta cheese, 2 Tbs of fresh dill (I buy the tube of dill in the  herb section of the produce department), 1 tsp of mint, 1 tsp of pepper and 3 tsp of nutmeg (if you don't like nutmeg do not add it, most times I don't use it or just a fraction like 1 tsp) plus 2 eggs one for the recipe and 1 for an egg wash to brush on the crescents before baking

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Don't freak out this is easier than the ingredients list would suggest.

Over medium high heat and some olive oil to a pan and saute the garlic with the leeks and and shallots till soft, add the spinach and scallions and cover for about 5 minutes until the spinach is cooked and wilted down, uncover and let simmer until the liquid is nearly gone, stir it often so that the spinach doesn't burn. Transfer the spinach mixture (when cooled down) to a large bowl and add the ricotta, feta, dill, mint, pepper nutmeg and egg.

Roll out your crescent rolls and separate the triangles, you should have about 16 triangles. Take the cheese and spinach mixture and spoon into your crescent rolls, fold the crescent roll into a triangle, brush each one with an egg wash and bake according to crescent roll instructions.

I love phyllo dough but it's so much easier to saute everything and then spoon it into a crescent roll than fighting with phyllo dough as I do every time I use it. If you want to tackle phyllo dough, go for it, challenge yourself and the current recipe for the filling will work perfectly. Remember to have fun in the kitchen and eat well. Enjoy!