Birmingham Bake and Cook’s Spanikopita

Spanikopita “Logs”
This recipe comes to us from Fanoula Gulas, of Birmingham’s own Fanoula’s Baklava

Yield: 10 – 12 Logs

Ingredients
5 bu Scallions, chopped
1 T Olive oil
1 # Unsalted butter, melted
40 oz Spinach, frozen, chopped, thawed, drained with the water squeezed out
3 ea Eggs, large
1 3/4 # Feta cheese, crumbled
1 # Phyllo dough, thawed according to package instructions

Method
Preheat a conventional oven to 350oF degrees.
Sauté chopped scallions in olive oil until just soft. Incorporate the spinach and briefly sauté, combining the flavors and allowing any remaining liquid to evaporate. Remove from the heat.
Combine the eggs and feta cheese in a bowl and add the sautéed scallion-spinach mixture. Mix well.
Lay the phyllo sheets on a clean working surface. Keep a damp cloth and wax paper nearby to cover the sheets as you assemble the spanikopita to prevent them from drying out; make sure to keep the wax paper between the cloth and the phyllo.
Lay one sheet of phyllo on a clean work surface. Brush with melted butter. Repeat this process with two additional phyllo sheets.
Place a “row” of the spinach mixture along the short end of the phyllo sheets, approximately 1 ½” from the edge. Fold in the edge evenly and roll into a cylinder shape.
Place on parchment paper-lined sheet pans with the seam side down. Brush with melted butter (at this point the spanikopita log can be frozen).
With a sharp knife, place vertical slits in the log at 1 ½” intervals, being careful not to cut all of the way through.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown.