The Greeks have done a lot of things right over the course of history. Without them, we would have been without democracy, mathematics and some delicious, delicious food.

Spanakopita is one of those delicious things. Sauteed spinach and feta wrapped in light, flaky phyllo pastry – absolutely heavenly. Although the Greeks are great, there are still ways to improve on what they’ve done. One word: Bacon. Doing math homework? Add bacon, and suddenly you’re happy. Stressed out running your democratic state? Have a BLT. Making spanakopita? Baconize it.

Ingredients

4 strips Maple Leaf Hearty Slice Bacon

150g Spinach

2 cloves Garlic

40g Crumbled Feta

1 Egg

1 tsp Dill (or dill paste)

1 tsp Nutmeg

¼ cup Melted Butter

Phyllo Pastry

Salt and Pepper

Makes about 7-8 pieces. Scale up as necessary

Directions

1. Grab your bacon, cut it up and throw it in the pan! Fry until its crispy, like it should be.

2. Into the rendered bacon fat, toss in your chopped garlic. Fry that until its fragrant and just starting to brown.

3. Throw ALL your spinach into the pan and mix and sautée till everything has wilted.

4. Put your sautéed spinach onto some paper towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. If you don’t do this, your spanakopita will be soggy.

5. Add in your crumbled feta and season with a touch of salt and some pepper.

6. Add your egg, nutmeg, dill and bacon of course. Mix all that stuff together. The egg will hold everything together when it cooks.

7. Grab your thawed phyllo sheets and cut them into long strips 3-4” wide. Put one strip down, brush melted butter on it, then cover with another strip. Add some more melted butter then a third strip. Three strips is all you’ll need for one spanakopita.

8. Put about a 1-2tbsp of your filling down on one corner of the phyllo.

9. Fold over the corner to make a triangle.

10. Continue folding forward to seal everything into a nice neat triangle. Seal the last little piece with some additional melted butter. Then why not brush more butter over the top. Yeah. More butter!

11. Place them on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes at 350F. They should be nice and golden brown. If they aren’t golden, turn your oven up to 450F and watch them closely over the next 5 minutes.