I used to make this so often that I had the recipe memorized. There is plenty of room for adaptation with the filling and I have changed the ingredients and the amounts with success every time. Because I do everything to taste with this particular recipe I do not have measurements for some of the ingredients. Start by making the dough first so that it has time to rise while you are making the filling.
A Greek acquaintance of mine, who grew up on Spanikopita-although his family more frequently called it zelnik, gave this recipe his stamp of approval…to the point of saying it was better than his sister’s… even though he wasn’t convinced it would be good since I was doing it in a deep dish instead of on a baking sheet. So even though this uses a 9×9 dish feel free to try the baking sheet method if you want.
I don’t think it is possible to ruin this dish as far as the ingredients go. I have changed my ingredients and quantities with the end result always being delicious. The most important part is to take the time to squeeze the juices out of the spinach/onion mixture and baking it long enough so that the phyllo dough is nice and golden brown. You want a crispy pastry not a soggy one.
