Vegan Spinach and Mushroom Spanakopita
When I was vegetarian in my early 20’s, I loved Spanakopita. It’s filling and nutritious.I sometimes made a salad with it or more sauteed spinach and mushrooms and millet to go with it. I thought this could easily be made vegan and it tasted just like the real thing. Serve with your favorite vegan sides.
Makes 10-15 small triangles Preheat 375 degrees
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pds. fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup mushrooms (your choice), chopped well
- 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼cup chopped chives
- ·4 ounces vegan feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ tsp. ground coriander
- Pink salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound phyllo dough sheets thawed
- 3/4 cup vegan butter, melted
Defrost the phyllo dough 1 hour before using. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and add the garlic, onions and mushrooms, cooking for about 2minutes. Add half the spinach to the pan and cook until wilted. Add the remaining spinach. Remove the spinach from the pan and let it cool. Press the spinach through a fine sieve to remove excess water then coarsely chop the mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stirring until combined.
Take the phyllo dough out of the package and unroll it onto a flat surface. Keep the phyllo covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel when you're not working with it, so it doesn’t dry out. Lay out one sheet of dough with the long end facing you. Brush the melted butter over the dough. Add 3 more layers, brushing each added layer with butter. of dough on top of the first, then brush the second layer with butter. Cut the dough vertically into 3-inch strips. Place 1 ½ tea spoons of filling on one end of the dough strip. Fold one corner of the dough over the filling to make a triangle shape. Fold the strip of dough over itself the same way you'd fold a flag until you reach the end. Brush a little melted butter over the top and place the triangle on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and filling. Arrange the triangles making sure they don’t touch each other on the sheet pan. They can be close to each other but not touching. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately
