Mini Spanakopita

I love spanakopita and have made them in a smaller size that can be served as a nice hors d'oeuvre with drinks for New Years Eve. It is healthy, filled with spinach, but a little on the salty side because of the feta cheese and kalamata olives. If you want to reduce the salt due to dietary concerns you can omit the olives. These are delicious little flaky triangles filled with a burst of big flavor.

I also wanted to wish all of my readers a Happy New Year. May the coming new year bring us all good health, much happiness, great prosperity and peace. Please have a safe night and party with those you love! Thank you all for your wonderful posts to me and great words of encouragement. I look forward to creating new healthy recipes that leave us feeling good about ourselves in 2010. All I can say is, expect the unexpected! I hope you enjoy.

Mini Spanakopita

Ingredients:

1 - 10 ounce box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted with all water squeezed out

3 Tbsp. scallions, chopped (about 2 large scallions)

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

16 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1 tbsp. dried dill

pinch nutmeg

1 egg, lightly beaten

12 sheets phyllo dough, defrosted according to package directions

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 375'

In a large bowl mix the spinach, scallions, feta cheese, parsley, dill and nutmeg until evenly blended. Season with black pepper if desired. Add the beaten egg and mix well to combine.

To work with phyllo dough place the dough on a sheet pan and cover with a lightly dampened clean kitchen towel or paper towel to keep it from drying out,. Lightly brush a sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter and fold in half from top to bottom. Place a heaping tablespoonful of the filling on the bottom, leaving about a 1/2" border. Lightly brush the rest of the dough with butter. Picking the phyllo dough up from either the left or right corner, fold over to the opposite edge to make a triangle. Continue folding the triangle by folding it up, to the left and to the right until you reach the top. Lightly brush the top edge with butter if needed and fold to seal. Place on a sheet pan, seam side down and lightly brush the top with butter and season with freshly cracked black pepper. Repeat process to use all phyllo and filling.

Bake on the sheet pan for 20 to 25 minutes or until the phyllo is golden brown and crispy. Remove and cool on rack.

This can be served with a simple dipping sauce of plain yogurt blended with the juice and zest of one lemon, a dash of dill and seasoned with black pepper. It is a wonderful optional compliment to the spanakopita.

Nutrition Facts

12 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 112.7

Total Fat 6.8 g

Saturated Fat 3.1 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g

Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g

Cholesterol 31.0 mg

Sodium 247.0 mg

Potassium 152.3 mg

Total Carbohydrate 9.9 g

Dietary Fiber 1.0 g

Sugars 0.2 g

Protein 3.3 g