Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole

This past week I have been able to experiment with a few new recipes. This particular dish is the one that I was trying to make the other night when I had my dinner mishap. I had just gotten all the filling made and then realized that my phyllo dough needed to thaw before I could use it. That is when I switched gears and made the Salsa Mac and Cheese instead. Luckily, I put this cooked Swiss chard filling in the fridge and made this dinner the following night. It stored really well, and picked up a lot of flavor from being parked overnight. Also, I tweaked the original recipe somewhat. The directions seemed unnecessarily complicated, so I improvised a little. I ended up just layering the dough in the casserole dish, and it still turned out yummy. We served this dish with some salad and roasted potatoes.

Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole
From: Cooking Light magazine, December 2003; by Donata Maggipinto

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 1/4 cups minced white onion
3/4 cup minced green onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
9 cups chopped trimmed Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 pounds)
6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh mint
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 large egg whites
10 (18 x 14-inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add white onion; sauté 7 minutes or until golden. Add green onions and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in chard; cook 2 minutes or until chard wilts. Stir in parsley and mint, and cook 1 minute. Place in a large bowl; cool slightly. Stir in cheeses, salt, pepper, and egg whites.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board (cover remaining phyllo to prevent drying), and coat with cooking spray. Top with 1 phyllo sheet, and coat with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with 3 additional sheets.

Cut phyllo stack into a 14-inch square. Place square in center of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, allowing phyllo to extend up long sides of dish. Cut 14 x 4-inch piece into 2 (7 x 4-inch) rectangles. Fold each rectangle in half lengthwise. Place a rectangle against each short side of dish. Spread the chard mixture evenly over phyllo.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board (cover remaining phyllo to prevent drying), and coat with cooking spray. Top with 1 phyllo sheet, and coat with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining phyllo sheets. Place 18 x 14-inch phyllo stack over chard mixture. Fold phyllo edges into center. Coat with cooking spray. Score phyllo by making 2 lengthwise cuts and 3 crosswise cuts to form 12 rectangles. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until golden.

Note: Cut the phyllo stacks so they fit in and up the long side of the baking dish. Arrange folded section against short edges of dish to encase filling.

Nutritional Information:
Yield: 12 servings
Calories:121 (35% from fat)
Fat:4.7g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.3g)
Protein:6.1g
Carbohydrate:13.6g
Fiber:1.6g
Cholesterol:14mg
Iron:1.3mg
Sodium:449mg
Calcium:134mg



The Result:
This was really good, and a great way to get more leafy greens into our diet. We all really enjoyed it! The only critique I have is that the phyllo dough is a bit of a pain to work with, but not horrible. This a vegetarian dish I will keep in my repertoire.