Savory spinach pie

Savory spinach pie

Piece of layered variety of savory spinach pie
Alternative names	zeljanica, spanakopita, ispanaklı Selanik böreği, ispanaklı Boşnak böreği
Type	Börek(savoury pie)
Place of origin	Turkey,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Serbia,Croatia,Montenegro,Albania,Kosovo,Greece
Region or state	Balkans(more broadlySoutheastern Europe)
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Phyllo,spinach(orleeks,chard,orsorrel),white cheese(mladi sir,orbeyaz peynir,orfeta,orricotta),eggs,sometimesonionsorscallions

Savory spinach pieis a pastry eaten throughout theBalkans.The filling is made of choppedspinach(sometimeschard) and usually feta or white cheese, andegg.

Etymology and history

Turkey

Ispanaklı Selanik Böreğiand /orIspanaklı Boşnak Böreği,is aTurkishsavoryspinachpie,orbörek.Thebörekgets its name from eitherSelanik(Thessaloniki) or Bosnia as it is widely common inBosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Zeljanicain Bosnia and Herzegovina is a savory pie filled with spinach, or sometimechard(in Serbo-Croatianblitva); the wordburek(Turkishbörek) is a pie filled withminced meat.

TasteAtlas,an encyclopedia of traditional dishes, in their presentation of the 100 best pastries in the world ranked Bosnian and Herzegovinian traditional pastry dishes, puttingzeljanicaaboveburek,sirnicaandkrompiruša.

Greece

For the Venture Bros. episode, seeList of The Venture Bros. episodes § Spanakopita.

Spanakopita(/ˌspænəˈkɒpɪtə,ˌspɑː-,-ˈkoʊ-/;Greek:σπανακόπιτα,fromσπανάκιspanáki'spinach', and πίταpíta'pie') is aGreeksavory spinachpie.It often also contains cheese, typicallyfeta,and may then be calledspanakotiropita(Greek:σπανακοτυρόπιτα"spinach-cheese pie" ), especially innorthern Greece.Insouthern Greece,the term spanakopita is also common for the versions with cheese. A version withoutcheeseandeggsis eaten duringreligious faststhroughout Greece. Spanakopita appears in many traditional Greek cookery books and appears in numerous restaurants and hotel menus throughoutGreeceand internationally.

Ingredients and variations

The traditional filling comprises choppedspinach,feta cheese,onionsorscallions,egg,andseasoning.Other white, preferably salted cheeses such askefalotirimay also be mixed with the feta cheese, and some may be used as a substitute for feta cheese. Herbs such asdill,mintandparsleymay be used as flavouring.The filling is wrapped or layered inphyllo(filo) pastry withbutterorolive oil,either in a large pan from which individual servings are cut, or rolled into individual triangular servings.While the filo-dough recipe is most common, some recipes use a village-style pastryhoriatiko,which has a thicker crust.It can also be made withpuff pastry.The pastry is golden in colour when baked, the colour often enhanced by butter andegg yolk.It can be served straight from the oven or at room temperature.

There is a "fasting"(νηστίσιμη;"nistisimi" ), orvegan,version of spanakopita, eaten duringLentand other religious fasts. This version has spinach, onions or green onions, other green herbs like dill, parsley, orceleryas filling and usesolive oiland a littlewheat flourbut noeggsordairyproducts. The mixture isoven-baked until crisp. Non-traditional vegan versions are available that typically usetofuinstead of cheese.

In rural Greece, smaller amounts of spinach are used, with the missing amount replaced withleeks,chardandsorrel.

Related pastries

Börekorburekis a family of pastries or pies found in theBalkans,Middle EastandCentral Asia.The pastry is made of a thin flakydoughsuch asfilowith a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes. Boreks are mainly associated with theMiddle East,Armenia,and also with the formerOttoman Empire,including theBalkansand theSouth Caucasus,Eastern EuropeanandCentral Europeancountries,Northern AfricaandCentral Asia.

See also

• Tiropita,a traditional Greek pie made with cheese
• Burek
• Rustico (pastry)
• Gibanica
• Bougatsa
• List of Turkish dishes
• List of Greek dishes
• List of pies, tarts and flans
• List of snack foods