Mediterranean

One thing I would have liked to write about, had I started this venture a few months ago, is my experience sharing a house with two international professors. Adea, of Albania, and Nino, of Georgia, lived with Missy and me for four months while they observed how education happens at KU. I don't think Kansas was their first choice, but I do know that they appreciated the home we offered. And I really grew to love them. 

A perk of living with European women that I especially cherished was the new food they brought to the house. Mediterranean is probably my favorite regional cuisine (if I had to choose one). Adea didn't cook much, but she did make this delicious spinach pie (byrek in Albania) that was reminiscent of the incredible Greek spanakopita that Toni's yiayia makes.

Adea's family eats byrek once a week at home, and she assembled it without a recipe. But after watching her do it, I decided I could too. This week, I invited some of my wonderful, encouraging friends over, who I knew would give gracious praise no matter what. It's important to have people like that in your life. I love them. The only intimidation factor was that Nicole has spent a lot of time in Slovenia and knows how tasty spinach pie should be (it's burek to those locals). But she was extremely kind with her reviews of mine.

The filling for the pie includes some of my favorite foods: spinach, feta, pesto.

I used frozen spinach (four packages), and it is important to thaw it completely and squeeze out all of the water. I didn't get a photo of that because my fists were full of spinach. The dough was also in the freezer section. 

I saw recipes that called for parsley and dill, but I loved that Adea used pesto, so I stuck with that -- about half of a 10-oz. bottle. Mix in three eggs to hold it all together, then begin the assembly. Ten sheets of phyllo dough on the bottom, ten on top. Each layer must be brushed with olive oil, and I used the spray kind, which was great until it ran out. Phyllo dough is not as hard to use as I thought! Try it sometime! It fits nicely into two 9x13 baking dishes.

This is when those wonderful friends jump in to help...

Our little food-loving circle tends to cook squash for every gathering. Sarah (shown here laying down sheets of phyllo) designed a beautiful cookbook and asked each of us to contribute a recipe. Three out of four of us used squash in our dish. It's probably not a traditional accompaniment to byrek, but it is certainly a tradition with us. I just chop it (or Mrs. Kelsey Hall will) and then open my aesthetically pleasing spice drawer and pick out some flavors. This time I used garlic salt and red pepper flakes. Olive oil, too.

Set the oven to 350, which will only exacerbate the inescapable heat of this unusually warm June. Use a sharp knife to slice the spinach pie into sandwich-sized pieces, then bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden. Roast the squash alongside until it is fork tender, flipping once. 

Then take a moment to admire the outcome and thank God for your taste buds. Again, it helps to have great enthusiastic friends to admire it with you.

I love this part. My favorite memories in this house are made sitting around Grandma's borrowed dining room table.

I apologize to anyone who is bothered by my lack of focus.
By the time I take the dinner table photo, that is not the priority.

I was so busy enjoying the meal, the compliments, and the conversation about Sarah and Tyler's upcoming nuptials that I didn't think to take another photo until this point:

Gather your loving circle and feed them some Mediterranean. Don't forget the wine.

Spinach Pie/Byrek

Makes 12 slices

4 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

3 eggs

5-7 oz. pesto (or more, if you like!)

2 c. feta

1 pkg. frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Olive oil for brushing

Combine the first four ingredients and set aside. For each 9x13 glass baking dish, spray with olive oil, lay one sheet of phyllo along the bottom, spray or brush with oil and repeat until there is a layer of 10 sheets. Top with half of the spinach mixture. Layer on ten more olive oil-brushed phyllo sheets. This gets a bit repetitive, but the flaky crust is worth it. Brush the top with more oil, making sure to coat the edges. Slice into six sandwich-sized pieces, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.

These are great re-heated in the toaster oven, and the burnt parts flake right off if you leave it in too long.

With love.