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Spanakopita Meat Loaf Recipe

Spanakopita Meat Loaf

Garth Brown |

Years ago I worked in a restaurant that used spinach in a number of dishes, and I can still vividly recall the culinary legerdemain employed to extract the excess water. It would be blanched and shocked in ice water and pressed dry before going in the lasagna or on a sandwich. If you've ever sautéed it in your house you know exactly why this was necessary - as it cooks spinach releases a lot of water.

The Spanakopita Secret

Spanakopita is a justifiably famous Greek dish. Flaky layers of phyllo dough surround a savory filling made of spinach, feta, herbs, and olive oil. It's green enough that eating it feels vaguely virtuous, but it's as delicious as a good slice of pizza. Last spring Alanna was trying to figure out how to make spanakopita, particularly the filling. After all, when properly made it is not dry but it certainly isn't swimming in water. With so much spinach in the mix, how is this possible?

She found the answer in a recipe on the fantastic website Serious Eats, which answered the question. Trahanas, a lightly fermented dried grain product, is added to the filling, where it both absorbs the liquid released by the cooking spinach and herbs and makes the texture more stable. If you, like most people, don't happen to have trahanas in your pantry, the good news is that couscous works every bit as well.

Loaf time

Meanwhile, I had been thinking about my entry for the second annual Cooperstown Loaf-Off and Meat Raffle, a charity event organized by my friend Alex to support our local food pantry. Prompted by nothing in particular I realized that a combination of spanakopita and meatloaf might work. I tried it out and immediately knew I was onto something.

This recipe has all the appeal of a regular spanakopita, but it's substantial enough to be a meal on its own. The phyllo topping provides a flaky contrast, and the couscous yields a better texture than a loaf made with flour or bread crumbs.

To be completely honest, I'm not crazy about regular meatloaf, but this is something else entirely, good enough to earn a place in the regular dinner rotation. And while it does involve a bit of prep ahead of time, once made it can sit in the fridge prior to cooking, and the leftovers are fantastic.

Spanakopita Meat Loaf

Garth brown

Servings

6-10

Prep Time

1 hours

Cook Time

1 hours

Cuisine

American

Category

Dinner

Combining the rich, savory flavors of spanakopita with the classic weeknight staple that is meat loaf, we get a delicious, filling one dish meal.

Spanakopita Meat Loaf

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground pork

  • 1 pound lean ground beef

  • 10 oz. baby spinach

  • 2 oz. dill, parsley, or other fresh herbs

  • 4 anchovy fillets (optional)

  • 2 medium shallots

  • 3 Tablespoons high quality olive oil, plus extra

  • ¾ cup couscous (145 grams)

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 2 Tablespoons gelatin

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten

  • 7 oz. high quality feta

  • 3 full sheets of phyllo dough, thawed

Directions

  1. Thaw your phyllo dough ahead of time in the refrigerator.

  2. Preheat oven to 350

    Put olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-low heat. Add anchovy fillets.

    As it heats, finely dice the shallots and add them to the pan. Stir occasionally and cook until translucent

  3. While the shallots are cooking, put spinach and roughly chopped herbs into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a large stand mixer. (Small stand mixers probably won’t be big enough.)

  4. Pour cooked shallots and oil over the greens and stir to coat the greens and slightly wilt them.

  5. Crumble pork and beef over the greens, then add salt, couscous, gelatin, and egg.

  6. If using a stand mixer, begin mixing on the slowest speed with the dough hook attachment. Stop every ten or twenty seconds and scrape the sides of the bowl. Your goal is to incorporate the greens and everything else into the meat.

    If mixing by hand, use a wooden spoon or your hands to incorporate all the ingredients.

  7. When thefilling is well combined, crumble feta over it and continue stirring until just incorporated.

  8. Press filling into a 13 x 9 baking dish. Layer phyllo on top one sheet at a time, brushing olive oil in between each. A full sheet of phyllo is big enough to double up, so three full sheets will give you six layers.

  9. Bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours. If you have a high quality kitchen thermometer, you are looking for an internal temperature of 175.

    Let rest at least ten minute before cutting and serving.

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