Longevity Pie, or how to make a spinach pie

by Vicky Steeves and the Gerakaris & Christos women who came before her

Spinach pie is also known as longevity pie.

Ingredients

Steps

It takes 3 days from start to finish to make a spinach pie.

  1. Clean and wash ~32oz spinach, removing the stems
  2. Dry the spinach in paper bags with paper towels between the levels for max drying. For 1 day.
  3. When the spinach is done drying, you mix the eggs, spinach, and feta in a big mixing bowl while melting the butter over the stovetop VERY SLOWLY. Crumble the feta AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, and mix with your hands breaking up the eggs
  4. Cut the Philo up both sides and over the top to take it out of the package correctly. Grab the wax paper it's in, slowly unfurl. Then count every sheet. Need the layers to be as equal as possible when assembling it. Extra pieces should on the bottom
  5. Assemble it: brush the pan with butter first, the entire pan. Then add 1 Philo sheet (hang over the edge as much as she can, then told them in right to the side), use a brush to coat it in a light layer of butter, then rotate the pan slightly and repeat for all the bottom layers of philo. After bottom layers are done, add the spinach-egg-feta mix, taking it from the top of the pan, squeezing the handfuls of mixture to wring the water out. Gotta work fast bc the butter dries on the philo. NEVER JUST DUMP THE MIX IN!! the water at the bottom of the mixture will ruin it. Then add the top layers of philo the same way as the bottom ones. The first few of the top layers are the hardest. Fold the Philo in such that the spinach stays in. Need a light touch for the butter.
  6. Take a wet cloth and clean the outer edges of the pan.
  7. After assembly, leave it in the fridge for 1 day uncovered
  8. Before baking, score the top or it will rise like a pillow (in cols/rows, in layers at some places)
  9. Bake 375 for 45min, rotate it and then cook another 45min (should be golden brown all the way around)