To Phyllo: Baklava & "Spanakopita" Pie

Have you ever made something and instantly wanted to become the expert maker of it? Like, maybe picturing yourself at a party and all the guests being all: "Whitney brought the spanikopita pie. It's amazing! We always devour the shit out of it." Or, whatever. Well, that happened this weekend TWICE & both times with phyllo dough. Despite its fragility, its flaky, delicate, breakable thin skin, it's super forgiving.

on a plate from Turkey. how regional.

I had a grand idea to make some phyllo cigars that I read about in Yottam Ottolenghi's book on Hamentine's Day, but dammit, I got lazy/tipsy and wanted nothing to do with frying things late at night. BUT, we had already defrosted the dough and I had already crunched up the cigar innards (almonds & pistachios) and I wasn't going to completely waste any of it. So, the next day I made baklava.

I was super nonchalant in following the recipe. I used almonds instead of walnuts, I didn't use dried apples, I barely used all those layers. But dammit! It turned out really well, and I immediately wanted to be a professional baklava maker brining baklava to friends and enemies, gaining accolades and winning the hearts of anyone who sunk their teeth into Whitney's Baklava. The honey sauce that is dribbled over the top is super sweet but complex because of the lemon and cinnamon (cinnamon = #1 underutilized spice, IMHO). And when it seeps into the baklava's flaky, lightly brown tinted crust, it's a marriage of equals and lovers and goodness and divinity. It's (the baklava, not the sauce) also perfect with peppermint tea.

exhibit A: if you're going to have a day off work, it makes for a nice treat with tea while reading a book.

Since I was such a lazy bum with the baklava and had leftover phyllo, I figured I could make spanakopta. I wasn't in the mood to make small triangles of spinach wrapped in phyllo, but a spanakopita pie would be delicious, I figured. All of the recipes had like a million eggs and 40 kinds of cheeses. I wanted something simpler.

So, when I happened upon this Greek Swiss Chard Pie recipe from NYT that had a simple preparation with only a few ingredients, I fell in love. ALSO, I liked that this pie required some fresh herbs (which I happened to have chilling in the fridge). And it was. I chose to use a ton of cilantro, admittedly an aggressive herb, but it tasted herbal and fresh. I also threw in some extra arugula we had laying around. Did it add anything? Who knows? But, I felt great about it for whatever reason. So great, I'm sharing. MOST IMPORTANTLY: I want to bring this to a party, too!

Important lesson: I used butter to glue the layers together for the baklava and oil for the spanikopita. I way preferred the butter. ALSO, when recipes tell you to have a damp paper towel to cover the phyllo as you work, do that! Phyllo dries out SOOOOOO quickly.

BONUS: we've had it for dinner twice and will have it for lunch tomorrow. It's easy, lasts well, and is delicious.