Spinach Puffs - Spanakopitas

Dear Foodies,

Now that I served you guys tea, how about something savory to go with it :) I made these spinach puffs more than a month back but I still remember the taste, they were soooo good. I used creamed spinach for the first time in a recipe. The spinach is already slightly seasoned and has some onion and garlic flavor too. I had not tasted it before and my roommate told me that it works well for making saag paneer. I did not get a chance to try making the saag and now that I made these puffs I am not sure when I'll save a pack of creamed spinach to try either :)

This one is not much of a recipe, but more of assembling things together. Hmmm...I could may be send this one to Sandra Lee. (I am not a huge fan of her show though, she sometimes elevates laziness to look like a virtue !! ) You can find the creamed spinach in the frozen section of the grocery store right beside the frozen spinach. It took just 20-25 mins to put together 6 of these.

Ingredients:

• 1 roll - Phyllo/Filo sheets, thawed
• 1 pack - Creamed Spinach(store-bought), thawed
• 1 tsp - Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp - Red Onion, finely diced
• 2 tsp - Oil/Butter for the filling
• 2 Tbsp - Butter, melted - for the phyllo sheets
  
• Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method:

1. Thaw the phyllo sheets as per the instructions. I had not planned to make these and came up with the idea while looking for something to munch in the freezer(??). So I left them on my stove side while I was getting the spinach filling ready and that was enough to thaw them.
   
2. The frozen creamed spinach needs to be thawed to, so if you have planned ahead move it to the refrigerator section a few hrs before you are ready to make them OR thaw them in the microwave for a few minutes.
3. Heat a pan with some oil. Add the chopped onions and garlic and cook for a minute or two. Next add the creamed spinach and check for seasonings. Cook it for a couple of minutes before turning off the heat.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 350deg C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
   
5. Get the phyllo sheets ready to work with, spread them on a floured surface & cover with a moist tea cloth or tissue. They are really delicate and dry off very fast becoming brittle and impossible to work with. More tips in this post.
6. On a floured surface spread one sheet, brush it with some melted butter and layer three more sheets, brushing each of them with butter. Cut the whole sheet into three equal portions along the length.
7. I made triangular shaped puffs. I thought a pic would do a much better job of explaining the process than my words could ever attempt ! Spoon a little filling into 2 and then fold 1 over to overlap with 2. Now carefully fold 2 to overlap with 3, 3 on 4, 4 on 5, 5 on 6 and so(you shud have got to the end of the filo sheet now ). This way you have neat little triangles with the filling tucked in the center and well covered with the phyllo dough. Use a little extra butter to stick the final flap to the dough. Brush the outside surface with some more butter.
8. Each set of 4-layered phyllo sheets should give you 3 such triangles. Arrange them on the baking sheet and once you have all the triangles ready bake them for about 20 mins of until you see a nice golden brown color all over.
9. Serve hot with some Tomato ketchup/Maggi Hot n Sweet ketchup
   

These were really tasty and I would definitely make them more often. The original recipe for Spanakopitas uses feta cheese, I saw that only after I made these puffs (out of curiosity :D). These could be perfect for parties too since they are so easy to put together. Do give these a try :)