Greek spanakopita spinach and goat feta pastry with distinct flavors of fresh basil and clove in a low carb crust made from Italian mozzarella and almond flour.
Spanakopita pie is the classic Greek savory dish that seems to make an appearance at every special occasion for my Greek peeps. Made with spinach, feta, onion, garlic and some very unique Greek herbs and spices and a hint of lemon juice, the savory aromatic pie usually doesn't last long at the table.
My spanakopita filling is easy to make with frozen organic spinach, goat feta, an egg, a little olive oil, fresh garlic, fresh basil, salt and pepper and a pinch of clove. It tastes like the real thing.
For the crust, I wanted to keep it low carb for the folks out there ketoing after the holidays. I've seen a keto crust made with mozzarella on the internet from dozens of food sites and thought I'd experiment with it. I have to say it turned out flaky, delicate tasting and it really holds together. That's important as this spanakopita pastry ended up being finger food.
My crust is made with Italian full-fat buffalo mozzarella that I found at a specialty cheese import shop in Salt Lake City. You could also use Buf brand mozzarella sold at Whole Foods or any compliant mozzarella. I also used grassfed cream cheese from pastured cows by Organic Valley. It's terrific! Let's get to making this!
Lectin Free/Keto Spanakopita Pastry
Keto Pastry
1 C Grated Mozzarella (any compliant type will do)
1/4 C Grassfed Organic Cream Cheese (compliant)
1 C Almond Flour
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1 Pastured or Omega-3 Egg
1 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Salt
Spinach & Feta Filling
1 C Frozen Spinach (drained and packed)
1/2 C Goat Feta
1 Egg
1 T Olive Oil
1 T Red Onion finely chopped
1 Garlic Clove finely minced
6 Fresh Basil Leaves chopped
1/4 t Ground Cloves
1/4 t Salt
1/4 t Pepper
Instructions:
Step 1: Mix the Pastry
In a medium bowl, melt the mozzarella and cream cheese in the microwave for about 1 minute. It should be melted and gooey when you stir it. Scrape the melted cheese into a food processor with a dough blade attached. Add the remaining pastry ingredients. Pulse until the dough comes together either in a ball or in very large crumbs. I added a bout a tablespoon of water during this process. You should be able to pinch the dough and have it hold its shape like play dough.
Step 2: Roll and Cut Pastry
Turn the dough out onto a rolling surface lightly floured with almond or coconut flour. Roughly shape the dough into a rectangle. then roll it out to about 8" x 18". Cut the pastry the long way down the middle, but just slightly off center so you have one sheet that is slightly wider. With a metal spatula, get under the narrower dough sheet to lift it and transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 3: Make the Filling and Fill the Pastry
In a medium bowl add all the filling ingredients and mix well. Spoon it onto the pastry on the baking sheet. With a metal spatula, get under the wider sheet of dough and place it on top of the filling.
Step 4: Seal and Score the Pastry
With a fork, work your way around the entire pastry pressing the slightly wider top edges to the narrower bottom edges to seal the pastry. With the filling, the edges should line up just right. Next, score slits across he pastry about 1/2 inch apart (see image).
Step 5: Gloss and Bake the Pastry
With a pastry brush, gloss the entire top of the pastry with egg yolk. Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on top for visual effect. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Cut the pastry along every two score marks for the perfect hand-held piece of spanakopita pastry.
Serve with some Greek bubbly!