My lesson for the day is to increase energy, and to let go of energy suckers. The goal is to increase my sense of peace, and to close the door on old aquaintances (whether people, or habits)that drains me of my life force.Today, I needed some energy. So, I tried to make some vegan spanikopita. They were delicious, but I do not have the triangle thing down. After about the third one I folded wrong, and just started folding them any direction that took my fancy.
I love spanikopita. What is better that spinach and cheese encrusted in light and flaky dough? Being a vegan, I cannot get them from my usually haunts; no one makes spanikopita without dairy. Make sure to season in layers., so I created this recipe.Ingredients:
1 bunch of spinach (note: make sure the spinach is washed to removed dirt and grit. It sucks to put gritty spinach in my)
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 onion
1 chopped clove of garlic
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
9 sheets of filo dough
½ cup of olive oil
¼ cup of white flour
¼ cup of plain almond milk (note: you can also use soy milk, rice milk, or a milk substitute of your choosing)
¼ cup of white wine
5 slices of vegan mozzarella cheese (optional)
Steps to prepare:1. Sauté spinach with lemon juice until spinach wilts. Make sure to season spinach with salt & pepper to taste.
2. Strain all of the juice from the spinach and put to the side
3. Pour ¼ cup of olive oil in sauté pan heat.
4. Place chopped mushroom in with the oil olive, season to taste with salt & pepper, sauté until the mushrooms get some color on them.
5. Add the onion and the garlic, season with salt & pepper to taste, and sauté until onions and garlic are transparent.
6. Add flour, almond milk, spinach and wine stir. This makes a creamy sauce.
7. Place spinach filling in a food processor and blitz a few seconds.
8. Get 9 sheets of filo dough, and place them between two wet towels, so they don’t dry out. Paper towels are a bad idea. I learned that the hard way. The filo sheets will stick to the paper towels.
9. Brush one filo sheet with olive oil, place spinach filling on filo sheet, fold into to triangle, or a packet, or whatever you can do. Then add vegan mozzarella cheese to five of them.
10. Place it on a parchment lined sheet pan and repeat steps 8 and 9.
11. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes, or until golden brown, and remove from oven and serve (recipe makes 9).
