Spanakopita

Instructions

Roughly chop the greens in a large basin (bowl).
Add the finely chopped dry and fresh onions, the finely chopped tender leeks, the tender onions with their leaves, and the finely chopped fresh herbs (dill, mint, and parsley).
Add salt and pepper.
With your hands, rub all the ingredients until they wilt, for about 1-2 minutes.
Add the trahana and the crumbled feta cheese and mix.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, evaporated milk, and olive oil.
Pour half of the liquid mixture into the filling with the greens and mix.
Keep the other half of the egg mixture for the filo sheets.
Dilute the reserved egg mixture by adding 50 grams of water to thin its texture.

Oil a large, shallow baking pan, 40 cm.
Lay the first large filo sheet and make sure it extends over the sides of the pan.
Drizzle with a little of the diluted egg mixture.
Layer two more country-style filo sheets, slightly crumpled to resemble grandma’s spanakopita.
Drizzle with a little olive oil between the layers.
Lightly drizzle them with the egg mixture.
Pour the filling in a thin layer over the filo sheets.
Cover with three more crumpled filo sheets.
Each time you layer a filo sheet, drizzle between them with the egg mixture and a little olive oil.
The top filo sheets should not extend over the sides, so crumple them so that their surface does not extend beyond the sides of the pan.
Fold the overhanging filo sheets around the perimeter of the pan into a thin crust.
Drizzle with any remaining egg mixture.
Lightly score the pie into pieces.
Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC, with both top and bottom heating elements on, on the lower rack, for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Suitable baking pan: it is an open, shallow, and large baking pan so that the pie has a large surface area and bakes more properly.
Layering the filo sheets: crumpling the filo sheets during layering so that the heat passes through and all the layers of the pie become crispy.
Correct filling: dry filling and a thin layer of filling are two key factors that affect the filo.
Where do I ideally bake the country-style spanakopita? Bake well at 180°C always with top and bottom heating elements (traditionally, the pie is baked in a wood-fired oven or in a makeshift oven (gastra) with the base and the roof heated.
Avoid fan-forced baking for pies. The outer filo sheets will dry quickly and brown, the middle filo sheets will remain soft dough, and the base of the pie will never become as crispy as it should.
A good pie is rosy on top and bottom with crispy filo sheets on top and bottom.
How will the pie’s filo remain crispy? Let your pie, whose filo is still crackling from the heat of the oven, rest. Leave it for 15 minutes to absorb as much moisture as it needs from the filling, to dry the filo well, and to become even crispier. This way the pie will remain crispy until the last piece.