Pies are a tradition here in Greece and there are hundreds different pie recipes. Spanakopita is probably the most popular pie and there are many variations of it as well. This is my favorite vegan version, with rice instead of feta cheese. Most recipes call for boiled or sauteed spinach but I prefer to use it raw.

Ingredients:

For the phyllo dough:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt
• lukewarm water enough to make a pliable dough

For the filling:

• 1/2 kg/1 pound spinach
• 4 spring onions
• 1 leek
• 1 bunch dill
• 1/4 cup rice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Place all the dough ingredients in a big mixing bowl and knead well for about 10 minutes.
2. Divide the dough in 4 equal size balls
3. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rest for an hour
4. Finely chop and wash the spinach, onions, leek and dill. Drain them well, add the olive oil and salt and massage them for at least 5 minutes.
5. Press the mixture with your hands to remove the excess water
6. Flour a surface and using a wooden rolling pin open each dough ball into flat circles (as big and thin they can get)
7. Brush a baking pan with olive oil and place the first phyllo at the bottom, brushing it with olive oil too. Place a second phyllo on top of the first one. Make sure that the phyllos are big enough for your baking pan as the edges must be hanging a bit outside the pan
8. Spread the spinach filling and sprinkle with the rice
9. Cover with the other two phyllos, brushing with olive oil
10. Place the edges of the all phyllos together and press them at the edge of the top layer using olive oil so that the edge of the whole pie is nicely sealed
11. Brush the top of the pie with olive oil and lightly cut the pie in portions, but without cutting down to the bottom
12. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for about 45 minutes, until the pie gets a nice golden brown color
13. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with few drops of water and let it cool a bit before serving