Beetakopita

My wife loves Beets, and she loves the Greek spinach pie known as Spanakopita! So for her birthday this year, we thought it would be fun to surprise her with a Spanakopita…but with the spinach swapped out for shredded beets! Don’t worry though…as you can see in the bottom right corner of the picture, we had some spinach on our plates.

Of course, beets and spinach have very different flavours, so we had to get creative with how to season the filling. For this one, we swapped out the black pepper, dill, and feta that typically accompany spinach for white pepper, rosemary, crumbled goat cheese, and honey! The result was a really tasty (and very red) filling with a perfectly flaky crust…and a happy birthday for my wife, who told me I’m allowed to make this one again any time!

Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 Large Beets (or, 6-7 medium ones, which would cook a little quicker)
• 2 Eggs
• Crumbled Goat Cheese or Feta
• Rosemary
• White Peppercorn
• Salt
• Optional: Honey
• 12 Sheets of Phyllo Dough

Method:

• Cut the ends off your beets and place into a large pot. Cover the beets with water, and boil until they can be pierced with a fork.
• Remove your beets, and let them cool slightly. Then, use your thumbs to remove the skins.
• Grate your beets using your food processor’s shredding plate or a box grater, and place the shredded beets into a large mixing bowl.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add your crumbled cheese, black pepper, salt, and rosemary to your beet bowl. Then, crack in your eggs, and stir to fully combine. Drizzle and mix in your honey as well if you’re using it.
• Arrange a layer of phyllo on the bottom of your baking dish. Make it two sheets thick.
• Spread half of your beet mixture atop your bottom layer of phyllo.
• Arrange another layer of phyllo atop your beets, and then spread the rest of your beet mixture atop to form a second layer.
• Finally, place a single layer of phyllo to completely cover your beets. Spray that with a little olive oil, and place another phyllo layer over the first one. Give that one a little oil spray too, and then top with white (or black) pepper.
• Bake for 40 minutes until your phyllo is golden brown and flaky on top.
• Plate, devour, and enjoy!