Ingredients for the dough:
- 1 kg flour for all uses
- 1/2 a cup of olive oil
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1/2 a cup of tsikoudia (Opional) or
- 1/4 cup of brandy (Optional)
Ingredients for the filling:
- 2 kg spinach or other greens
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 a cup of crushed feta (Optional)
- Mint to taste (fresh or dry)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients for glazing:
- 2-3 egg yolks beaten (more if needed)
- Sesame seeds
Method:
- Place the flour in a large size bowl, add 1 tsp of salt, the olive oil and mix well until it looks like oatmeal.
- Add enough water so that the dough does not stick in your hands when kneading it turns into smooth dough.
- Cover the bowl with the dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 1-2 hours.
- Remove the roots from the spinach and wash them well under plenty of running water.
- Sauté the spinach in an empty casserole for 5 minutes.
- Allow some time to cool down a bit and squeeze it with your hands to remove any excess water and put it in a bowl.
- Add the onion, salt, pepper, mint, olive oil, (optional feta cheese) and mix them together.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough with a rolling pin into about 1/8 thick.
- With a tea saucer (which is about 4 inch in diameter), or a pastry cuter, cut as many pieces as you can.
- Collect all the cut off dough, knead it again, roll it out and cut some more round pieces.
- Place a tablespoonful of spinach mix into the center of the circle; fold the circle over into a half-moon shape.
- Using a brush wet the round ends (on the inside) and with a fork or a pastry crimper, crimp the ends.
- Brush all the pastries with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Preheat 1 cup of olive oil over medium heat and fry until golden on both sides.
- Drain on paper towels to remove any excess oil.
- Kalitsounia me Spanaki (Kalitsounia with Spinach) can also be baked in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Kalitsounia me Spanaki (Kalitsounia with Spinach) can be eaten hot warm or cold.
- Kalitsounia me Spanaki (Kalitsounia with Spinach) are great as a meze (Appetizer) with a nice Greek Red Wine, Ouzo or even better with real Tsikouthia from Crete.