Spanakopita Gets An Italian Twist
Loaded with spinach and creamy, briny feta, who doesn’t love the savory Greek pie with the crisp pastry crust known as spanakopita?
Even so, the thought of fussing with hard-to-handle phyllo pastry sheets might be enough to deter you from wanting to make it at home.
So, take an easier route and use pasta instead.
Yes, “Baked Spanakopita Pasta with Greens and Feta” swaps out phyllo for tubular or curvy pasta instead. Think of it as the Greek cousin to American mac ‘n’ cheese.
This simple recipe is from “Easy Weeknight Dinners” (Ten Speed Press, 2024), of which I received a review copy.
It’s by the New York Times Cooking and Emily Weinstein, its editor in chief.
It’s a collection of the newspaper’s top 100 recipes especially designed for today’s busy lives. There’s even a list of the best recipes to make when all you have is 15 minutes or only want to dirty one pot or want to have on hand in the freezer for a later time.
Who says you don’t have time to cook on a weeknight after work? Not when you can make “Crispy Gnocchi with Burst Tomatoes and Mozzarella,” “Sheet-Pan Salmon and Broccoli with Sesame and Ginger,” “Green Curry-Glazed Tofu,” and “Grilled Za’atar Chicken with Garlic Yogurt and Cilantro.”
The baked pasta recipe is by Ali Slagle, a regular contributor to New York Times Cooking, and author of “I Dream of Dinner, So You Don’t Have To.”)
For the noodles, I used a sample I had received of Rustichella d’Abruzzo PrimoGrando Sagne e Pezzi ($8.95). It’s made with three varieties of heirloom durum wheat semolina grown in Abruzzo that gives it a yeasty, bread-like aroma and taste when cooked. Resembling broken lasagna with curly edges, it’s a traditional shape from Abruzzo.
Cook the pasta just shy of al dente, drain, but reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. Saute scallions and garlic in butter, then stir in a brick of cream cheese with the reserved pasta cooking water until a creamy sauce is created. Add in mozzarella, and feta, and a load of spinach, Swiss chard, arugula or watercress plus dill and parsley. I used Swiss chard as one of my greens. Although the recipe stated to remove the stems, I ended up chopping them finely and adding them to the pasta, which worked out well. I also recommend using at least some dill as one of your ingredients. While that can be a divisive herb, it really does the job to make this dish truly reminiscent of spanakopita.
Next, stir in the pasta, then transfer everything to a baking dish; top with more feta and mozzarella. Bake for about 15 minutes until the top turns a little golden brown.
For each of the recipes, the New York Times has included a comment from a reader who has made the dish, which is quite helpful. This particular reader added lemon zest to the recipe. I did the same, plus the juice of half a lemon after stirring in the pasta, to give this rich dish a touch of brightness.
Indeed, this is a very creamy, cheesy dish full of peppery, minerally-tasting greens, and the distinctive grassy, anise taste of dill. So much so, that I don’t think four people could polish this off. To me, it serves more like 6, especially if you’re accompanying it with a salad and/or grilled bread. That’s why I changed the recipe below to reflect that it can serve as many as that.
So, turn on the oven, put a pot of salted water on the stove to boil, and start chopping those good-for-you greens to enjoy this hearty, comforting dish.
Baked Spanakopita Pasta with Greens and Feta
(Serves 6)
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 cups chopped spinach, Swiss chard or other mild greens (tough stems removed; though, you can finely chop the chard stems to add to the recipe, if you like)
4 cups chopped arugula, watercress or other peppery greens
1 cup chopped fresh dill or parsley leaves and tender stems, or a combination
6 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, whites and dark green parts separated
1 pound tubular or curvy pasta, like rigatoni or fusilli
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8 ounces cream cheese (1 cup), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 ounces mozzarella, grated (1 cup)
4 ounces crumbled feta (1 cup)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a 3-quart/9-by-13-inch baking dish, toss the chopped spinach, arugula, herbs and scallion greens with 2 teaspoons salt and a few good grinds of pepper. Squeeze the mixture with your hands to wilt, then set aside.
Cook the pasta until 2 minutes shy of al dente; reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta and set aside. Return the pot to the stove.
Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat. Add the scallion whites, garlic and a pinch of salt and saute until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese and cooking water and stir until smooth. Stir in the wilted greens, half the mozzarella and half the feta until combined. Stir in the pasta until combined. Add lemon zest and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Transfer the pasta to the baking dish, then top with remaining mozzarella and feta. Bake until the sauce is thick and bubbly and the top has browned in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. If you like a crispier top, broil for a few minutes.
From An Ali Slagle Recipe Adapted from “Easy Weeknight Dinners” by the New York Times Cooking and Emily Weinstein
More Ali Slagle Recipes to Enjoy: Gochujang Gravy
