Vegan Spanakopita

This Greek spinach-and-feta pie translates surprisingly into vegan mode, although I haven’t found a way to make it gluten-free at this point. I have found a gluten-free version of puff pastry at Whole Foods – it’s called Gee-Free – but no phyllo as yet.

Ingredients:

Filling

12 ounces fresh spinach, chopped; you can also use a mixture of spinach and chard
1 bunch scallions or green onions, finely chopped (about 6-7 scallion bulb pieces)
¼ cup fresh dill or chervil
¼ cup parsley; either kind works but I use Italian flat leaf
¼ tsp sea salt, or to taste
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Olive oil or vegan broth for sautéing

1 pound phyllo (filo) sheets; use the thick kind if you can find them

¼ cup olive oil for brushing phyllo (filo)

Faux feta filling:

1 cup raw cashews , soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp water
¾ tsp sea salt , to taste after you’ve tested the mixture

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 175 C.

In a skillet brown the scallions in olive oil or broth until soft, about 2 minutes.

Add spinach, salt and pepper and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Add dill and parsley and mix well. Put the mixture in a large bowl.

In a food processor, add the cashews (drained and rinsed after soaking), vinegar, water and salt.  Pulse until you get a chunky but coarsely chopped texture.

Pour the cashew “feta” mixture into the bowl with the spinach and mix well.

Pour the olive oil for brushing in a glass bowl.

While still in the packet, cut the phyllo longways to fit the length of your pan.

Brush the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan with a little bit of oil.     Line the pan with half of one phyllo (filo) sheet, allowing the other half to hang over the edge, brush the half in the pan with some oil, then fold the other half over the top and brush it with oil too. Do it this way because the phyllo sheets are bigger than the pan. Repeat for half the phyllo sheets.

Spread the spinach mixture on top, then top with the remaining phyllo sheets brushing each of them with the olive oil again.

When the spanokoptia is complete in the pan, cut into serving sized pieces.

Bake for 60-70 minutes until it is golden brown on top. Begin checking at 50 minutes as ovens vary.

Let the spanakopita cool completely before cutting through and serving.

For the printer-friendly .pdf file, click HERE.