My mother stopped by the other day with a slice of spinach pie that was both too delicious and beautiful not to share. Growing up, my first exposure to greek spanikopita came from my sister when she prepared the bite-size appetizers for a Mediterranean potluck spread. Despite being a huge fan of the cartoon Popeye, as a child I was still not enamored with many food items packed to the brim with spinach. I must have been fooled by the flakey, golden-brown puff-pastry crust that afternoon, because before I knew it, I was reaching for one of the delicate triangles cooling on the counter. To this day, I can remember my surprise at how flavorful the moist, tender filling was beneath what seemed like hundreds of layers of brittle, buttery pastry. Somehow, someway the tart feta cheese and subtle hint of nutmeg had transformed the spinach into something not only palatable to my young taste-buds, but infinitely more appetizing. Looking back, it was perhaps that first bite that ushered in what would become a personal mantra with my adventures in eating: don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. I’d like to think that it was that leap of faith that helped pave the way to what would eventually become the mantra in my life in food; don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
The version my mother brought by incorporates all the same authentic flavors of the original, only it’s delivered in a more substantial pie slice sized serving. Perfect as a main course, this riff on the original two-bite version eliminates the guilt associated with being the person that devour six to ten at a
time.
My mother stopped by the other day with a slice of spinach pie that was both too delicious and beautiful not to share. Growing up, my first exposure to Greek spanikopita came from my sister when she prepared the bite-size appetizers for a Mediterranean potluck spread. Despite being a huge fan of the cartoon Popeye, as a child I still wasn’t enamored with many food items packed to the brim with spinach. I must have been fooled by the flaky, golden-brown puff-pastry crust that afternoon, because before I knew it, I was reaching for one of the delicate triangles cooling on the counter. To this day, I can remember my surprise at how flavorful the moist, tender filling was beneath what seemed like hundreds of layers of brittle, buttery pastry. Somehow, someway the tart feta cheese and subtle hint of nutmeg had transformed the spinach into something not only palatable to my young taste-buds, but infinitely more appetizing. Looking back, it was perhaps that first bite that ushered in what would become a personal mantra with my adventures in eating: don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
The version my mother brought by incorporates all the same authentic flavors of the original, only it’s delivered in a more substantial pie slice sized serving. Perfect as a main course, this riff on the original two-bite version eliminates the guilt associated with being the person that devours six to ten at a time.
