Collard green spanakopita!
This is kind of a double recipe post because first we need to document Nick’s delicious collard greens… well as much as possible because it’s really a feel thing. a pinch o’ this a dash of that, stir, taste, adjust. Repeat about 5 times.
The spanakopita is my side of the equation. I came up with this because we had just bought 3 bunches of collards that were each the size of small children. We bought it for a potluck but we got there late (sorry Ryan!), so there were a lot of leftovers and a whole unused bunch – a lot of collards. What else do you need fuck tons of greens for? Spanakopita. Perfect.
Next time I do some Greek-y thing I want to try this beaut…
This is a pretty basic recipe that comes down to tasting and adjusting proportions as you go. Basically you add a couple inches of water with bouillon and bring it to a boil then add a bunch of chopped and cleaned collards. The collards cook down so there is no need to add a bunch of water – Just enough so they don’t get dry. After they are nearly cooked (could take as long as 15min), add a generous amount of butter, salt, and vinegar to your taste. Greens are not a fussy thing. Sometimes I add garlic or chiles or ginger, depending on the meal they are accompanying. If you have an idea, I say go for it :). First, move over 15 sheets of your filo(phyllo, fillo, whatever – you know what I mean) from freezer to fridge in the morning (~8hrs before go time). Take it out of the fridge ~2 hours before go time and keep it covered in some damp paper towels so it doesn’t dry out. Let’s begin with collards. Check out recipe here, these will be added soon. Sauté onion and scallion for a couple of minutes. Squeeze collards so they arent so watery and then add them to the sauteed goodness. Stir. Put aside to cool. When cooled add in crumbled feta and egg. Coat your baking dish with olive oil. Layer 2 sheets, and then add a layer of olive oil or butter or a mix, add 2 more phyllo sheets and a layer of oil and one more sheet for good measure. Then dump the goods (collard mixture) in there. Follow the same method of 2 sheets, oil, two sheets and so on until all has been used up. Fold in the sides. Coat the top with oil and sprinkle some sesame and cayanne on top just for fun. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Cover in tin foil if it starts to look a little too dark on top. Serve with a tasty fresh salad of tomatoes, radish, cucumber and a nice light greek dressing.Collard Greens
Collard Spanakopita
