Spanikopita

Ingredients

• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 3/4 pound feta cheese
• 1 small bunch fresh dill, chopped (a scant 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 red or yellow onion, or 1/2 bunch scallion, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 large bunch spinach, washed, dried, and roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp some sort of cracked-grain hot cereal (farina, cream of rice, etc. )
• 1/2 package phyllo dough, thawed
• Olive oil, as needed ( 1/3 cup)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the cottage and feta cheese, dill, and onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper (you want it somewhat strongly seasoned, since it’ll be mixed with the spinach, but be careful as the feta will add a lot of salt). Mix in the egg. Add the spinach, by handfuls, until the mixture is somewhat well-distributed.

Grease a large casserole dish with olive oil. You can also use a sheet tray, if you prefer a thinner spanikopita, or whatever dish you so desire. Open the package of phyllo, making sure to keep any unused portion covered with a dishtowel so that it doesn’t dry out. Lay down two sheets in the casserole dish, then drizzle with olive oil. Spread the oil out somewhat evenly over the sheet, using a pastry brush, wadded-up bit of waxed paper, or whatever you have. Repeat the process, until you have 8 sheets down. Lightly sprinkle the farina (or its equivalent) over the top sheet (this will absorb excess liquid given off by the spinach, and prevent it from sogging your bottom phyllo). Spread the spinach-cheese mixture over the top. Lay down another 8 sheets of phyllo on top, oiling between every two layers. Oil the top layer, and cut a few vents to allow the filling to bubble up. Bake until the top is lightly browned, and the filling is bubbling, 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool 5 minutes, and serve.