A Greek Dish For You: Spanakopita Casserole

All the flavor, no fuss.

Spanakopita, a Greek appetizer made with spinach and flaky puff pastry, has a creamy filling. It takes a lot of work to make these tiny bites of heaven at your home. This spanakopita casserole is a delicious main dish and can be prepared in just an hour without any pastry.

Serves 6-8
45 minutes

INGREDIENTS :

• 1 16-ounce box penne
• 1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach (or equivalent of 1 pound fresh spinach, chopped)
• 1 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh dill, chopped (or 3 teaspoons dried dill)
• 1 15-ounce tub ricotta cheese
• Pinch each salt, pepper
• 1 8-ounce package part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS :

1. Preheat oven to 400˚.
2. Cook pasta on stovetop for 5 minutes then drain. Reserve half cup of pasta cooking water before draining.
3. Add spinach just before draining to thaw. If using fresh you can flash cook the spinach using the same method.
4. Combine remaining ingredients, including reserved water, save for 1/4 cup feta and mozzarella cheeses.
5. Pour mixture into 3-quart baking dish (9×13 inch) and top with remaining cheeses.
6. Bake for 25 minutes covered.
7. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes to melt cheese topping.