Virginia'S Excellent Greek Spanakopita - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 lbs good quality Greek feta cheese, crumbled
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 onion, chopped (use a small-medium size one)
2 bunches scallions, washed, chopped, green and white parts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped coarsely
1/2 bunch fresh dill, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup once chopped)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb prepared raw phyllo pastry sheet (either #4 or #7 size thickness)
1/4 cup butter, melted, as needed to brush pastry
water, as needed to spritz pastry

Preparation

Defrost, drain, and squeeze the spinach dry as possible and set aside.
Heat a large skillet and add oil.
Saute onion for a few minutes, just until they begin to get translucent, not brown.
Add scallions and saute a few minutes longer.
Add parsley and dill and saute for a few seconds.
Season with pepper (she poured some into the cap of the pepper jar and dumped it in- she said approximately 1 tsp).
Combine lightly beaten eggs, spinach,feta,Parmesan cheese, and the onions mixture in a large bowl, mixing gently until combined.
Using a pastry brush,very lightly butter a large jelly roll pan (approx 11\"x14\")- it should be a large rectangular shape with fairly low sides.
Set a sheet or two of phyllo pastry into the pan to evenly cover the bottom, and then brush very lightly with butter (she said to not go overboard with the butter).
Repeat until you have 10 layers of pastry in the pan (if using #4 thickness; if using the thicker #7 size, then make 1 or 2 fewer layers).
Spread spinach mixture evenly in the pan.
Preheat oven to 300\u00b0F.
Meanwhile, layer another 10 layers of phyllo pastry on top, as before, folding and tucking in edges at the corners as you go.
Using a clean spray bottle filled with some cold water, lightly mist surface- this will produce a crispy top layer.
Using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour.