Swiss Chard Spanakopita

Wilt - to become limp or flaccid; droop.

Limp and flaccid is a slight understatement for what is occurring to my swiss chard every week.  My  good intentions of swiss chard consumption turn to feelings of guilt as the week progresses. I slap a few leaves in my morning smoothie, but by the time Thursday rolls around (CSA delivery day), my swiss chard is beyond wilted.  Dissolved, disintegrated and stinking up my cooler where I keep my produce are more apt definitions

The reoccurring swiss chard in my CSA box will not wilt this week!  This recipe took care of any wilting.

Swiss Chard Spanakopita

adapted from Susan eats London

Ingredients:

• One large bunch Swiss chard (about 20 stalks), leaves separated from stalks, stalks trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
• ¼ – 1/3 cup (about 60-80 ml) olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 pound (about 300 grams) feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone or ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 10-15 sheets of phyllo dough (about half a pound, or 250 grams)
• ¼ pound (1 stick, or about 200 grams) unsalted butter, melted

I also had some leeks on hand that I wanted to use up, so I chopped them up and popped them in with the onions.  Yum!

Directions

• Thaw phyllo dough (takes about 5 hours)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C)
• Heat some olive oil in pan and cook the swiss chard until it is wilted - I did it in 2 batches
• Remove chard from pan, dry with paper towels, and chop finely when cooled slightly
• Now chuck in the chard stems, onions and whatever other veggies you decide to use (like I threw in leeks).  Sauté them until tender
• Stir in the chard leaves, nutmeg, and lemon juice, and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes more, until it is all mixed up.
• Allow this vegetable mixture to cool, and in a separate bowl, mix together the cheeses and eggs.  Plop it all together in the cooled vegetable pan.
• Then make the triangles... here is what Susan says, and what I did "Spread a single sheet of phyllo pastry on a board, making sure to cover or wrap the remaining phyllo in the interim so it does not dry out, and cut the sheet into three-inch-wide (five centimetre) strips. 

• Brush each strip with butter.  Spoon a heaping teaspoonful of filling onto the base of each strip

•  Fold from one corner over into a triangle, then fold that triangle over again, and so on. If your phyllo tears, don’t worry, just keep folding.
• Place the triangles on a baking tray. Brush the tops with additional melted butter and bake 25-30 minutes, or until the top of the pastry is golden brown.
• YUM!