Greek Spanakopita Pie

By S. Danford

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 9 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 12 sheets frozen phyllo dough (9x14), thawed
• 6 T butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350.
Cook beef and onion in skillet over med high heat stirring frequently. Drain
Stir in spinach, parsley, salt, pepper and all but 1/2 cup of the tomatoes.
Cook and stir until hot. Set aside.
Cover phyllo sheets with a damp paper towel.
Arrange sheets, layering 3 at a time, in a X shape and then in a + shape to create a spoke pattern on work surface, brushing each with butter and sprinkling with 1 T of the bread crumbs.
Transfer all layers of phyllo to pie plate, gently easing dough down sides of pie plate and allowing excess dough to hang over edge.
Place beef mixture in pie plate and top with feta cheese.
Fold overhanging phyllo up over the filling leaving 2-3 inch center of filling uncovered.
Spoon remaining 1/2 cup tomatoes in center.
Brush phyllo with butter.
Bake 40-50 minutes or until golden brown.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.