Spinach-Cheese Triangles

Makes: About 40 pieces, enough for 20 to 40 servings

Time: About 1¼ hours

One of the all-time great (and impressive) appetizers; you can convert this into an equally stunning main course by following the variation below for Spinach-Cheese Pie. Read about handling phyllo on page 487 (and even find a recipe to make your own on page 488). But here are a couple of handy rules: Defrost phyllo dough overnight in the refrigerator. Allow yourself plenty of room to work. Brush the layers lightly and evenly with butter or oil; don’t glob it on.

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the spinach and cook until bright green and tender, 3 minutes. Drain, squeeze dry, and chop.

2. Put the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and scallions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, some salt and pepper, and the nutmeg and stir.

3. Beat the eggs with the cheeses in a large bowl. Stir in the spinach mixture, dill, and parsley. Heat the oven to 350°F.

4. Unroll the phyllo sheets and cut them into thirds lengthwise. Keep the phyllo sheets covered with a piece of plastic wrap and a damp towel over the top to prevent them from drying out. Working with one piece at a time, brush lightly with butter, then sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Put 1 heaping teaspoon of spinach filling in one corner of the dough and fold the corner over to make a triangle (see illustrations). Continue to fold the phyllo, making triangles—as you learned to do with a flag. As each piece is finished, brush the top with melted butter and put on a baking sheet.

5. Once the sheet is full, bake for about 20 minutes, until the triangles are nicely browned; while they’re in the oven, continue to shape the rest. Let each batch rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

SPINACH-CHEESE PIE This makes for easy assembly; cut into generous slices, it’s both rustic and divine, absolutely dinner worthy: After you’ve prepared the filling, lightly grease a rectangular 13 × 9-inch baking dish with the butter. Place one sheet of phyllo in the bottom of the dish and brush with more butter. Repeat with half of the phyllo, then spread the filling on top. Stack the remaining phyllo over the top, brushing each layer with butter, and use a sharp knife to score the top layers into squares or rectangles (don’t cut all the way through to the bottom). Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top of the dough is golden brown and very crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PHYLLO TRIANGLES WITH LEMONY GREENS This is also good if you cook 1 cup mushrooms with the onion: Use any greens you like—spinach, kale, dandelion, escarole, etc.—and increase the amount to 3 pounds. In Step 2, add ½ cup chopped walnuts to the onion; season the greens and onion with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Let cool for a few minutes, then stir in 2 beaten eggs; omit the cheese. Proceed as directed.

PHYLLO TRIANGLES WITH CHEESE Omit the spinach and everything in Step 2. In Step 3, add 1 cup grated Parmesan, pecorino Romano, or other hard cheese (hard Greek sheep’s milk cheese would be ideal) to the mix along with nutmeg and black pepper to taste; omit the dill and parsley.

PHYLLO TRIANGLES WITH LAMB Reduce the spinach to 12 ounces. Before adding the onion and scallions to the skillet, cook 12 ounces ground lamb, stirring and breaking up any clumps, until it loses its red color, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and scallions and proceed as directed.

BOUREKAS Variations of these individual pies exist all over the Middle East; my favorite is this Israeli version: After brushing the stuffed triangles with the melted butter, sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and a little za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend. It’s not quite traditional, but it’s fantastic here.

Folding Spinach-Cheese Triangles

Step 1
Spoon the filling onto one corner of the dough.

Step 2
Fold over the corner to make a triangle.

Step 3
Continue folding in triangles as you would a flag.