Monday, June 9, 2008

Spanikopita, Chickpea Patties, Tzatziki


For tonight's Greek dinner, I combined 2 items that can be used as appetizers, or dinner. I used my version of my mom's Spanikopita filling recipe, and made triangles instead of a pie. I paired it with Chickpea patties, a recipe I found in a Greek cookbook. I made a few changes to speed up the cook time, like using canned not dried beans. I also dry pan fried them instead of frying them in 1" of oil. I served the patties with Tzatziki, one of my favorite condiments to eat with pita or falafel, similar to these patties. I finished this meal off with some leftover okra, not pictured.

Spanikopita Triangles, Revithokeftedes (Chickpea Patties) and Tzatziki (Yogurt Dip)

Spanikopita:
1 roll of phyllo dough, thawed, rolled out and covered with a damp towel
½ stick butter, melted or butter nonstick cooking spray
2 c. chopped spinach, drained well
1 c. cottage cheese, drained
½ c. crumbled feta
1 egg
½ tsp. oregano
1 tbsp. onion powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix spinach, cottage cheese, feta, egg and spices in a bowl.Lay phyllo out on a cutting board. Brush 1 layer with butter, add another, brush, repeat 4 times. Slice each sheet lengthwise 3 times, making 3 long strips. Plate a spoonful of spinach mixture into the end, fold over to form a triangle, continue folding until you reach the end of the dough.
Place seam side down on a baking sheet. Continue until you’ve made all the triangles.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.


Revithokeftedes:
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained, mashed in the can
1 yellow onion, minced
3 sprigs of green onion, minced
salt and pepper
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 tbsp. fresh chopped mint
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Olive oil or nonstick spray

In a large nonstick skillet over medium low, sautee' onions and scallions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.
While onions cook, add mashed chickpeas, cornstarch, mint, and oregano to a bowl. Add onion mixture, toss.
Heat the same nonstick skillet to medium-high. Spray with nonstick spray or drizzle with EVOO. Drop mixture into 4 patties in the pan. Cook for 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Serve with Tzatziki
Recipe derived from The Foods of the Greek Islands, Aglaia Kremezi. Houghlin Mifflin: NY, 2003.


Tzatziki:
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. minced cucumber
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. minced dill
1 tbsp. minced parsley
Juice of 1 lemon

Mix all ingredients, taste for seasoning. Serve with Chickpea patties.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Spanikopita and Tzatziki are on my to try list...this looks great! BTW, I think you mean damP in your instructions!!! Check it out.

Anonymous said...

I knew I'd be majorly drooling at your recipes this week, but these look way better than I could have imagined. I need some of those chickpea patties NOW! YUM!

Jayne said...

Oh yum - some of my favorite foods on earth. Great job!

vague_hit said...

i made those chickpea patties tonight and they were fantastic :) i actually ended up blending the chikpeas to paste in a food processor with a little water and doubling all the ingrediants so id have some for work tomorrow but yeah..they were awesome! oh yeah, i cooked them on a george foreman grill, was weird eating them when they're not dripping with olive oil :P
had them with some spicy tomate couscous and a simple greek salad (cucumber, feta, tomato). best dinner. thanks!

Catherine said...

I tried the chickpea patties tonight and they were SO good! I added a baby arugula salad and put the tzatziki sauce on the salad and patties...yummie! Thanks for all of the great recipes, I will be trying more@

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this! I made this for supper for our first guests in our new place. I made the spanikopita in a 9'x 13" pan, and made almond mocha crunch bars, and served halvah too.