Vegan Spanakopita

For tahini quinoa tabouleh:

1/2 cup white quinoa
1 cup water
1 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
1 small tomato, diced

In a small sauce pan, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in tahini. Let cool completely. Stir the parsley, mint, and tomato into the quinoa.

*For the tofu "feta":

7 ounces extra firm organic tofu
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 2 tablespoons fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper. Add in the cubed tofu and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Divide in half. Some will go into the spanakopita and reserve some to garnish on top.

For the spanakopita:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
16 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted, as much liquid removed as possible
1/4 cup Trader Joe's vegan cream cheese
3.5 ounces tofu "feta" (the half you reserved earlier)
1/2 pound filo pastry
1/4-1/2 cup vegan butter

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium. Sauté diced onion for about 3 minutes. Add in garlic. Cook another minute or so. Add in spinach. Cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat. Add in vegan cream cheese and lightly crumble in the "feta". Both should be cold so it will help cool down the spinach quickly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll phyllo dough. For the phyllo, cut into 11 by 3 inch rectangles. Keep phyllo covered when not using to avoid the phyllo drying out.

Lay one of your rectangles on a flat surface. Using a pastry brush, cover with melted vegan butter. Top with another rectangle of phyllo and brush with butter. Repeat until you have 6 layers of phyllo in total.

Place about 2 tablespoons of spinach mixture onto one end of the phyllo rectangle. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle. Continue to fold over, forming a triangle each time. (Check youtube if a visual is more helpful). Once you have folded up the whole rectangle, brush the top with more melted vegan butter. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Continue this process until you have used up your phyllo sheets.

Bake for 25 minutes till golden brown, turning over halfway through. This helps to make sure both sides get browned. Let cook slightly before serving.

To plate, spread some beet hummus on a plate. (I used Trader Joe's beet hummus because I had it on hand but just add some beets and lemon juice into your regular hummus recipe for the same result) With a sharp serrated knife, gently cut the spanakopita in half. Place in the center of the hummus. Sprinkle on some tofu "feta", some of the quinoa tabouleh, and some sliced kalamata olives.

(*The leftover tofu "feta" marinade makes an awesome dressing for salads as well!!)