Greek Platter
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
- Total: 1 hr 45 min
- Prep: 30 min
- Cook: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients
Sliced Spinach Pie, cut in slices (see recipe)
Hummus (see recipe,) drizzled with olive oil and topped with toasted pine nuts
Sliced feta, drizzled with olive oil
Greek olives
Sliced tomato
Whole tomato
Grape leaves stuffed with rice
Pita bread, cut in triangles
Spinach Pie:
3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
6 extra-large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 pound good feta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
1/4 pound salted butter, melted
6 sheets phyllo dough, defrosted
Hummus:
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons water or liquid from the chickpeas
8 dashes Tabasco sauce
Directions
- Arrange the food items decoratively on a platter and serve.
Spinach Pie:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a medium saute pan on medium heat, saute the onions with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.
- Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. Put the spinach into a bowl and then gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, feta, and pignoli.
- Butter an ovenproof, nonstick, 8-inch saute pan and line it with 6 stacked sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter and letting the edges hang over the pan. Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the phyllo and neatly fold the edges up and over the top to seal in the filling. Brush the top well with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.
Hummus:
- Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste for seasoning and serve chilled or at room temperature.