A Turkish staple, spinach and feta borek are delicious savory pastries layered with buttery phyllo,…
Sephardic Spinach Pie with Parmesan and Feta
A Turkish staple, Sephardic spinach pie has cooked wilted spinach, eggs and feta cheese all cooked together creating a savory and cheese souffle casserole.
I grew up on this Turkish Sephardic spinach pie as a kid and every once in a while, will revisit the recipe because it is just so easy to whip up.
The ingredients are simple yet create the most fantastic, savory, salty pie that puffs up gently like a souffle and is perfect for a weekend brunch.
Sephardic Spinach Pie has Simple Ingredients
Spinach: you can use fresh and cooked spinach or frozen spinach for this recipe. If you are using frozen, defrost completely and ring out most of it’s water so the pie doesn’t get soggy.
Eggs: whole eggs give the savory pie richness and a souffle texture.
Cheeses: Feta and Parmesan are the main cheeses here, and ricotta would work great as well.
Breadcrumbs: Helps bind everything together. Use whatever you have, including regular Italian breadcrumbs (without seasoning), panko breadcrumbs and even matzo meal.
How to Make Savory Spinach Pie
Lightly oil a 4 x 6 square pan (or round or rectangular of similar size…anything you have) and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add cooked spinach, eggs, cheeses and breadcrumbs (or matzo meal) and mix together. ( At this point, I am not adding any salt since the feta and Parmesan are salty already but you could add freshly cracked black pepper).
Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake in a 375 Fahrenheit oven for about 40 minutes until puffed up and lightly golden brown on top. You can also insert a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, it’s ready.
Let cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Other Favorite Turkish Recipes
Kanafe with Ricotta and Simple Syrup
Sephardic Spinach Pie
A Turkish staple, Sephardic spinach pie has cooked wilted spinach, eggs and feta cheese all cooked together creating a savory and cheese souffle casserole.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 390kcal
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked spinach or frozen, squeezed of excess water (2 bags of frozen spinach)
- 6 eggs whisked
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup feta cheese roughly crumbled
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese + more for topping
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, add the cooked and cooled spinach, eggs, breadcrumbs, feta cheese and Parmesan cheese. Mix well but gently. Add salt and pepper paying careful attention to salt due to the feta and Parmesan.
- Using a 4X6 rectangular baking pan (or equivalent in size), drizzle olive oil in bottom of pan. Use a paper towel or pastry brush to smear the olive oil all over the bottom and sides of pan.
- Pour spinach mixture into pan, evening it out. Top with freshly grated Parmesan and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes, uncovered. Test with a toothpick when done. If it comes out clean, its ready.
Notes
To test doneness, insert a toothpick and if it comes our clean, it’s ready.
If using frozen spinach, defrost and squeeze excess water out before mixing with everything else.
Other cheeses to try or substitute are ricotta or farmers cheese.
Nutrition
Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 755mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 492IU | Calcium: 313mg | Iron: 3mg
Post was updated 4/2020 with added notes and nutritional information.
Great! I grew up eating this too. Some of my first memories are of my grandmother making this dish (she was Sephardic as well from Turkey). She didnt use a recipe of course so it has been challenging trying to recreate it. Sometimes she would add hard boiled eggs into the pie for extra texture: there were several speckled throughout (rising above the rest of the pie). Did you ever see it done this way?
My mom is the same way! She doesn’t use a recipe so as we were making it, I had to measure as I went 🙂 I don’t remember her putting an egg in this dish but she does in other things! I will double check though!
How many cups or ounces of raw fresh spinach to end up with 6 cups cooked? Seems it would take a ton!
I believe we used 1-2 of those LARGE Costco sized spinach containers!
This was a dish in my family, too. In fact, I made it for tonight’s Seder with matza instead of bread crumbs. I’ve been looking all over the place for the right spelling for this dish that we call Qua-zha-doe (trying to spell out the pronunciation). You can make it with spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. I hope someone can help with the spelling!
Oh I have no heard of the one you mentioned! How interesting!! My mom has said I can make this spinach pie with zucchini instead so I plan on doing that this summer!
Cuajado is a Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) term for “coagulated or having curds” and refers to savory baked dishes made with cheeses combined with lots of eggs, a little flour or matzo-meal for binding and lots of grated fresh vegetables – spinach, eggplant, potatoes, leeks, or squash, (as in this recipe)
Thank you for sharing!!
My grandparents came from Turkey and just called it “spinaka,” but I’ve heard it called Quazado also.
My grandmother made little pastries called “montiz” (not sure of the spelling) using a similar filling, but with kasseri cheese instead of parmesan. When I was a kid, it was the only way I would eat spinach. Thanks for posting this!
Hi Dana! My mom talks about montiz too though I have not made those…thank you for reminding me 🙂
H, Samantha,
Please could you tell me what a 6×4 cooking dish is? If it’s inches, it looks very small for the recipe quantity!
Best wishes,
Val, writing from the UK
Hi Val! That recipe is so old but yes it is in inches. This is the closet pan size I found to what I used then. Honestly, it’s such a versatile recipe, I would suggest any square or rectangle pan that is 8 inches or less. Even a round pan will work as well. Here is a link to a size I think is similar to what I used. https://amzn.to/3dMTc4P