Phyllo Spinach and Feta Pie - Byrek me Spinaq - Mediterranean Latin Love Affair

Spiral phyllo pie shown baked in a round baking dish.

Phyllo Spinach and Feta Pie - Byrek me Spinaq

This spiral phyllo pie is made with homemade layers of stretched phyllo, wrapped around a spinach and feta filling that also has dill and green onions. In Albania we call this phyllo pie, Byrek me Spinaq. Today I'm showing you the spiral version of this pie, but you can also make a rectangular pie by stacking the layers.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Albanian, Mediterranean

Keyword Albanian phyllo pie with spinach, Byrek, byrek me spinaq, Spiral Phyllo Pie with Spinach and Feta Cheese

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 50

Stretching phyllo 45

Total Time 1 55

Servings servings

Calories 1009kcal

Author Sonila

Equipment

1 14 inch round baking dish at 14 inch round, better if it's 15 or 16 inch in diameter

Ingredients

Phyllo dough

4.5 cups unbleached all purpose flour use 4 cups for the dough and the last half cup as needed when you are kneading the dough for the surface are and to reach the correct consistency.
2 cups lukewarm water
0.5 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsps olive oil

Phyllo Pie Filling

16 ozs spinach I like to use pre-washed baby spinach
1 bunch dill see also video for size of the bunch approximation
6-8 green onions
0.5 tbsp sea salt
8 ozs feta cheese block feta in water is preferred
2-3 tbsps Greek yogurt
2 eggs

Additional Ingredients

2 cups cornstarch used for stretching the phyllo
1 cup olive oil used to brush the assembled phyllo before baking

Instructions

Making phyllo dough

Add 4 cups of all purpose flour on a mixing bowl. Create a well in the middle.
Dissolve salt in lukewarm water. Add 2 tbsps of olive oil, mix well.
Pour the liquid mix over the well of the flour slowly. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix and create dough. Adjust as needed with 1-2 tbsps of water or tbsps of flour to get the soft consistency of dough. Knead well for 5-6 minutes.
Place dough into a clean bowl and cover with kitchen towel. Let dough rest.

Making filling

Clean spinach from stems, wash the night before and let air dry if spinach is unwashed. If you can buy the triple washed spinach because it will save you time. Cut the stems out, add spinach to a big bowl. Add salt.
Clean dill from branches and stems, chop fine and add over the spinach.
Chop the green onions top off, remove one outer layer and then wash them thoroughly because they tend to keep impurities in between the leaves. Dice them roughly and add over the spinach dill bowl. Use your hands and press on the spinach, dill and onions while you are mixing them. The volume will go considerably down.
Crumble feta cheese with a fork, add in the bowl. Whisk the eggs lightly, add over all the other ingredients. Finally add some yogurt too, 2-3 tbsps is enough. Mix everything well.

Stretch the phyllo dough

Once dough has resting for about 30 minutes or so, it will be more elastic and pliable. Cut into equal pieces, about 12-13 of them is enough.
Knead each separately and make them into small dough balls. Place them on a platter and cover with kitchen towel.
Use cornstarch and a thin rolling pin to stretch each phyllo ball into a thin, see-through layer. This part takes some practice but it's not impossible to achieve.
Fold a corner, add filling into a straight line then roll the layer until you get a log shape. Rotate that into a spiral shape.

Assembly

Oil the bottom and sides of a baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Once you have the first spiral phyllo dough roll, add it to the middle of the baking dish. Stretch another layer, add filling, roll it then wrap it around the first spiral shape. Continue repeating until you get to the edges .
Brush olive oil generously over the spiral dough. Once you're done, place baking dish in the oven. Monitor the phyllo pie while it's baking. Once it reaches the golden brown color, cover with aluminum foil. Bake in total for about 50 minutes. I usually add the aluminum foil around 30 minutes into it, but that might be different for everyone based on the oven you're using.
Once baked, let rest for about 15 minutes before cutting into it.
If you like crunchy phyllo pie, there's no need to do anything else at this point. If you want a softer phyllo pie, drizzle lightly some water drops over the pie as soon as you get it out of the oven. Keep it covered those 15 minutes of rest.

Video

Notes

Please note that servings of this pie size can vary from 4-8 because of the way you serve this dish. It you serve with soup, or yogurt or salad, then you might stretch this to 8 servings. If you have kids like mine who don't stop eating, then this is more like 4 servings.
Calories are estimated based on all the ingredients input, but keep in mind that you don't consume all the cornstarch and olive oil used.
I personally serve my byrek with spinaq with tarator or plain yogurt. My kids just don't add any side dishes to it. While my husband will have a small salad or soup as starters.

Nutrition