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Phil's Bacon Spanikopita

A phyllo pastry filled with bacon, spinach, and a mixture of feta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Feta cheese and mozzarella cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 60 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Phil's Bacon Spanikopita

Oven375°F
Timeabout 10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Thaw phyllo dough at room temperature for about 2 hours, still in package.

  2. Separate sheets of phyllo; if sheets are moist, let them dry; if dry, damp cloth over them for a few minutes.

  3. Cook bacon in a medium pan over medium heat until crisp; set aside to cool.

  4. Chop the first bunch of spinach into quarter‑sized pieces; melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet; cook spinach, stirring constantly until wilted; set aside to cool. Repeat with second bunch.

  5. Crush cooled bacon into bits and place in a large mixing bowl.

  6. Drain cooked spinach by squeezing thoroughly over a sink; when dry, add spinach to the bowl with bacon; melt remaining butter in a small saucepan over low heat.

Assemble

  1. Add feta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses to the bowl; stir in minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, nutmeg, oregano, and salt; mix thoroughly by hand.

  2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lay one layer of phyllo on a cookie sheet; brush lightly with melted butter; lay another phyllo sheet on top and brush lightly. Fold both sheets lengthwise. Place a small handful of the cheese/spinach/bacon mixture at one end of the phyllo; fold the phyllo into right triangles like a flag.

Bake and store

  1. Place finished spanakopita on a separate cookie sheet; lightly glaze each piece with melted butter; bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

  2. For storage, freeze uncooked spanakopita; if cooked, refrigerate for up to a week.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

532Calories
29 gProtein
39 gFat
18 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Feta Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Spinach1 cup raw (30g)7
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Phyllo Doughnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Feta cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together60 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,093 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Feta cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together94 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Spinach + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,435 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Spinach + feta cheesetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together374 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Phyllo dough
Forms thin, flaky layers that crisp and brown when baked with butter.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the phyllo layers turn golden and crisp.
Spinach
Provides moisture-free leafy bulk and earthy flavor once wilted and squeezed dry.
Feta cheese
Supplies salty, tangy flavor and a crumbly, creamy filling texture.
Bacon
Adds smoky, savory flavor and salty fat to the filling.
Mozzarella cheese
Melts to bind the filling and add a mild, stretchy creaminess.

The step that matters

Squeezing the cooked spinach dry. Spinach holds a lot of water; leftover moisture turns the filling soggy and can steam the phyllo instead of letting it crisp.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, spinach, phyllo dough, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic):

  1. Oreganofits better
  2. Basilfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, spinach, phyllo dough, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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