Ricotta Spinach Filo Bites Recipes

SPINACH RICOTTA ROLLS

Steps:

• Take pastry out of freezer.
• Place spinach in a colander and use a wooden spoon or your hands to press out excess water. You could also do this using a tea towel or paper towels. Transfer spinach to a bowl (drink the liquid, it's good for you!).
• Add remaining Filling ingredients. Mix to combine.
• Place pastry on work surface and cut in half to create 2 rectangles - you should have 6 in total.
• Divide filling between pastries, brush edge with egg then roll up, finishing with the seam side down.
• Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180C/350F.
• Spray 2 x baking trays with oil (any).
• Cut rolls into 4, or whatever size you want. Brush tops with egg (makes it golden) then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake for 25 minutes, then take out the top tray and move the bottom tray to the top and give it an additional 5 - 10 minutes to make it golden.
• Best served warm - the pastry is crispier and the filling is juicier. See notes for make ahead instructions.

SPINACH RICOTTA BITES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions for 4 minutes until tender.3. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute then set aside to cool.4. Whisk eggs in a bowl and stir in ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.5. Once combined, stir in spinach, salt and cooled onion and garlic mixture.6. Pour the mixture into greased mini muffin cups.7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is set and golden on top. If necessary use a sharp knife to cut around sides of bites to release.

ITALIAN SPINACH AND RICOTTA PIE

Steps:

• Place spinach in a skillet over medium heat and cook until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, squeeze dry, and chop finely.
• Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat and add onion. Cook until onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Stir ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, 2 whole eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into the cooled spinach mixture.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch tart pan or pie dish.
• Unwrap the phyllo dough. Keep covered with a damp cloth to prevent phyllo sheets from drying out.
• Lay 1 sheet of phyllo over the buttered dish flush with the edge so that excess phyllo hangs over on only one side of the dish. Brush lightly with melted butter. Top with another sheet of phyllo at a slight angle to the first one. Continue in this manner, with up to 12 sheets, brushing each sheet with butter and working clockwise to lay each at a slight angle to the previous sheet.
• Spoon cheese and spinach mixture evenly into the phyllo-lined dish. Using the back of a spoon, make six indentations in the filling, then carefully place 1 egg yolk in each. Season each yolk with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit of melted butter.
• Take the extra phyllo dough hanging over the edges of the dish and fold it over to the centre to cover the filling, 1 sheet of phyllo at a time, brushing each one with butter. Brush the top of the whole pie with butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the phyllo pastry is a dark golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm.

RICOTTA & SPINACH FILO BITES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Heat the oil in a pan, then cook the spring onions for 1-2 mins until softened. Add the spinach and cook for a few mins more until any liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat.
• Pat the feta dry with kitchen paper, then crumble it finely into a large bowl. Add the ricotta, dill and season with pepper. Taste, then add a little salt if needed. Add the eggs and spinach mixture, then mix well.
• Unfold the filo and cut into three pieces lengthwise, cutting through all of the sheets at once. Take out 3 sheets and wrap the remainder tightly to prevent them from drying out. Brush the 3 strips lightly with melted butter. Fold in half lengthwise so they are half the length, then brush again with butter. Place 1 tsp of the mixture on the end of each strip, fold a little pastry over the filling, then fold in the edges. Loosely roll to form a cigar. Place on the baking sheets, a little apart, then finish making the rest. Can be frozen in a large plastic container for up to 3 months.
• Brush the tops with butter, then bake for 15-18 mins until lightly golden and crisp.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA FILO PIE

Steps:

• Heat a spray of oil in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the spinach and cook for 5 minutes, stirring and bubbling off any liquid. Tip into a sieve and press to remove as much excess liquid as possible. Cool.
• Beat the egg with the ricotta and nutmeg and season. Stir in the feta with the spinach and onion. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
• Spray a 20cm loose-based cake tin with a little oil. Line it with the filo sheets, leaving any excess pastry hanging over the edge and spraying each sheet with oil. Spoon the cheese and spinach mixture into the tin. Fold the overhanging the pastry up and over the top of the pie (you can freeze the pie at this point if you like, cook it from frozen and make sure the centre is piping hot). Spray the top generously with oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes until or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. Serve warm or cold.

FETA, RICOTTA CHEESE AND SPINACH FILO WRAPS

Steps:

• Take the pastry sheets out of the fridge for at least 15 min before handling to avoid breaking although sheets are a lot easier to handle and they warm quicker than puff or crust pastry.
• Cook the washed, drained and chopped spinach. You may wish to use onion, if so, chop and sweat that first with 1 tbsp of olive oil for a few minutes and then add the spinach. Cook until all water will evaporate. Spinach has to be well-drained so it doesn't need cooking for too long. 2-3 min will be sufficient. Once finished, set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven at 190°C/380°F, prepare the oven tray, line with baking paper and set aside.
• Grab a bowl, put in the feta cheese which you should make into small crumbles with the help of a fork. Once this is done, add the ricotta cheese and mix well. Add salt only if your feta is not salty or you would really want them fairly salty. I do recommend however to taste the cheese before so that you know what level of saltiness that is. Then decide if you like to add any more. Add the egg only if you wish. I sometimes like it without. Add a pinch or two of freshly ground pepper. I normally split them into two at this point because I can't give up on the dill version. I always must have some with dill and some with spinach separately.
• Add the cooked spinach and the dill separately if you split the cheese or you could add both to the whole cheese mix. So, let's get rolling! Take out one pastry sheet, fold it into two to get a rectangle shape.
• Optionally, brush with a little oil or melted butter(for extra crispness) not necessary though, add a spoon full or two of the cheese composition (on the shorter side of the rectangle) but don't go all the way to the edges so that the pastry sheet margins could be folded in slightly, and then roll or make little parcels just like I did. Roll or pack lengthwise. There is no right or wrong but the only thing I will say at this point is to not overload the sheets with too much cheese as there should be a right balance between the amount of pastry and the one of cheese.
• Place the rolls/parcels on a greaseproof, egg wash each, sprinkle the mixed sesame seeds. When all finished place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes at 190 C

SPINACH PHYLLO CUPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix the egg, garlic, and feta in a large bowl. Stir in the spinach. Place the phyllo shells on flat baking sheets, and fill with the spinach mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven until hot, 6 to 8 minutes.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA PHYLLO POCKETS WITH GREEK SALAD

Steps:

• Drain and squeeze all the water out of the thawed spinach and set it aside. Mix the mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, egg, oregano, basil, nutmeg, salt and freshly ground black pepper together in a bowl. Stir in the chopped spinach.
• While building the phyllo pockets, always keep the dough sheets you are not working with covered with plastic wrap and a damp clean kitchen towel. Remove one sheet of the phyllo and place it on a flat surface. Brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter and then layer another sheet of phyllo on top. Brush the second sheet of phyllo with butter and layer a third sheet of phyllo on top. Cut the layered phyllo sheets into 4 strips, about 5-inches wide.
• Place roughly 1/3 cup of the spinach filling at the end of each strip of dough. Fold the bottom right corner of the strip over the filling towards the left edge of the strip to make a triangle. Continue to fold the phyllo dough around the spinach as you would fold a flag, making triangle after triangle. Brush the outside of the phyllo triangle with more melted butter and set it aside until you've finished the 4 strips of dough, making 4 triangles.
• Pre-heat the air fryer to 400ºF.
• Transfer the first two phyllo triangles to the air fryer basket and air-fry at 400ºF for 5 minutes. Turn the triangles over and air-fry for another 5 minutes.
• While the first batch of triangles is air-frying, build another set of triangles and air fry in the same manner. You should do three batches total. Once you have air-fried all the triangles, they can be warmed in the air-fryer for a minute or two just before serving if you like.
• To make the Greek salad, combine all the vegetables in a bowl. Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together and then dress the salad, tossing until all the vegetables are evenly coated.
• Serve 1 to 2 warm triangles per person with the cool Greek salad on the side.

RICOTTA SPINACH PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF./180ºC Line a large baking pan or pizza pan with non stick baking paper.
• Finely chop onion and garlic.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat.
• Add onion and garlic and cook until golden. Set aside to cool.
• Squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the defrosted spinach.
• Mix spinach with the cooled onion mixture, ricotta, crumbled feta, grated parmesan or Romano cheese, eggs, grated nutmeg, salt.
• Follow all the tips listed below when using fillo.
• Take 4 sheets of filo brushing some of the ½ cup olive oil between each sheet.
• Spoon about 1/5 of the mixture along the long side, roll up and twist into a coil onto the prepared baking tray. Don't panic if it splits a little - this is rustic cooking!
• Continue this way until you have used up all the pastry and filling and your pie looks like a large coiled sausage.
• Beat extra egg with extra salt. Brush the pie with egg getting into all the joins. Be liberal and make sure to use all of the egg.
• Bake it for 1 hour by then it should be crispy brown all over and the gorgeous smell should be invading your house. Now you know it's ready.
• Let it cool a little then cut it into generous wedges.

SPANAKOPITA BITES: SPINACH AND FETA CHEESE APPETIZERS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Wash and drain the chopped spinach very well. If using frozen spinach, thaw completely and squeeze out excess water very well. Spinach should be quite dry.
• Heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan or dutch oven. Sauté the onions and green onions until tender. Add the spinach, parsley, and dill and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the spinach is wilted and heated through. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook the spinach mixture until the excess moisture evaporates. You want it to be on the dry side. Remove from heat and set the spinach aside to cool.
• Once the spinach has cooled, add the crumbled feta, eggs, and ricotta cheese, and mix until combined.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly brush the insides of the frozen phyllo shells with olive oil and fill with spinach mixture until approximately 3/4 full.
• Bake the filled shells on a baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is cooked through. Serve immediately.