Spinach and Ricotta Bundles

I had a package of spinach in my fridge and was wondering what to do with it. I decided to thaw a bit of phyllo dough and make a simple mix of ricotta, spinach, pine nuts and some lemon to create a nice dinner that I served with a simple tomato salad.

You will need:

• 1 package baby spinach (mine was 5 oz)
• 2 sheets phyllo dough thawed according to directions on box
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 3 cloves garlic -crushed
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese - drained for 30 minutes
• 2 spring onions- chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp lemon zest 
• a squeeze of fresh lemon
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp butter- melted
• 1 tbsp zahtar (optional)

Step 1: drain ricotta.

Step 2: place spinach in a pot of boiling water and cook for exactly 1 minute. Drain and wrap in paper towel. As soon as you can handle squeeze out all the water which will leave maybe a cup of spinach. Chop well.

Step 3: in a dry pan toast pine nuts for a few minutes be careful not to burn them.

Step 4: place chopped spinach, toasted pine nuts, spring onions, crushed garlic, ricotta, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl. Add salt and pepper and mix. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Step 5: take each sheet of phyllo and brush lightly with butter or olive oil. If you would like you can sprinkle a bit of zahtar seasoning  and then fold each sheet in half. The seasoning will be between the phyllo. Place half of the spinach mixture on one end of each bundle.

Step 6: roll over the phyllo once then fold in each side to sea edges. Roll up until you have formed a bundle. You can seal the edges with some butter. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with butter. You can see the Zahtar seasoning in between the phyllo sheets.  You could do this with salt and pepper or Parmesan cheese if you do not have zahtar (which is thyme and sumac and sesame seeds)

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for approx 20 minutes until browned. Serve immediately.