Tammy O’Connell of Muskego has won the Great American SPAM Championship at the Wisconsin State Fair for her SPAMakopita, a delicious recipe based on the famous Greek dish Spanakopita. She won the coveted blue ribbon for her SPAM creation plus $150 cash prize. Her recipe now moves on to nationals where it will compete against 25 other 1^st place SPAM creations from state and county fairs around the country for the grand prize, a trip to the 2013 SPAM Jam Waikiki in Hawaii!

SPAMakopita

1/2 Vidalia onion (or sweet yellow onion) finely chopped

1 (12 ounce) can Oven Roasted Turkey SPAM, finely cubed

Olive oil (for sautéing)

2 teaspoons dill

8 (1 10-ounce bag) cups fresh spinach, finely chopped

2 tablespoons water

8 ounces crumbled mild feta or goat cheese

1/3 cup shredded Romano cheese

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

2 eggs

1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry dough, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sauté onion and SPAM in olive oil with dill until onion is clear and SPAM is lightly browned.
3. Microwave chopped spinach with 2 tablespoons water for 7 minutes. Rotate and stir halfway through, drain.
4. Combine onion and SPAM mixture with cooked spinach. Add feta cheese (or goat cheese), Romano cheese, Greek seasoning and salt. Set aside to cool.
5. Using a fork, beat 1 egg and pour into cooled SPAM and spinach mixture.
6. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry dough to 14 x 14. Cut each sheet into thirds and then each third into four 3-1/2-inch squares to come up with 12 squares per puffy pastry sheet.
7. Beat remaining egg with fork.
8. Fill each square with SPAM mixture, brush egg on edges and fold into triangle using a fork to seal edges.
9. Brush egg on top of each SPAMakopita.
10. Arrange on greased sheet pan.
11. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Yields: 2 dozen

~Created by Tammy O’Connell of Muskego, 1^st Place in the Great American SPAM Championship, 2012 Wisconsin State Fair