I might as well heat my house by using the oven and gain something useful at the same time.
This recipe is based upon a fellow Daring Baker's recipe, Audax Artifex: http://audaxartifex.blogspot.com/2008/11/spinach-and-cheese-pie.html
Spinach, onions and phyllo dough made for a very nice savory pie that I had to try.
I thought I had new package of spinach in the freezer, but I scrounged only a 1/2C. As a result, I ended up with more of a onion and cheese pie. :-)
Onion and Cheese Phyllo Pie with some Spinach
Pre-heat oven to 350F
1/4 Shallots, Chopped
1 1/2 C Onion, Chopped
1/2 C Spinach, Frozen Chopped Spinach - defrosted and squeezed dry. My pref is to use 1C.
2 C Ricotta Cheese, I used whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
Phyllo Dough
Melted Butter for brushing the phyllo.
Saute the onions and shallots until soft... Add the spinach. Allow the mixture to cool.
Add the veggie mixture to the ricotta, eggs, salt and black pepper.
Phyllo dough, available in the freezer section of the Supermarket, is a tissue thin dough.
The phyllo is brushed with melted butter. This helps crisp the phyllo while baking and prevents drying.
Brushing a layer with butter... place another layer on top and brush the new layer with butter. I stacked about 6 sheets together. Cut into 4" x 4" squares, but save the ends.
Instead of making one large pie, I used a muffin tin. The a 4" x 4" squares were placed into the tin. About 2 or 3 T of filling was added. Fold the edges over the top and use the odds and ends to cap the mini-pie.
The filling was enough for 12 mini-pies.
Bake 350F for about 30 minutes or until nicely brown.
An close look at the pies. The filling and phyllo seemed to puff up with the cooking.
Two on a plate.
The inside of a very nice tasting pie - mild onion and shallots.
6 comments:
Gosh these look yummy. I enjoyed reading about Audax's beautiful whole pie version as well.
I think we should all use more Phyllo Dough.
So, now I have just one question for you... when's the party? :)
Dear John I really liked how you made muffin pies with the recipe. Yes the pies (big or small) puff up a lot. Yours look so brown and crisp and I hope were yummy. Yes I have used frozen spinach several times and it works just as well as fresh spinach.
Thinking of parties... I wanted to see if I could make muffin sized pies... to use as an appetizer.
Shawn,
Phyllo should be used more... just add butter. Everything is better with butter! lol! Also, I can freeze some for you.
Audax, I'm a fan of frozen spinach. I can't seem to use fresh spinach fast enough before it turns. The recipe turned out very nice! Thanks for posting it on your blog.
General Note... Just watched an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. A diner in Marietta makes Spanikopita. Their trick is to sprinkle the top with water so the top layer doesn't puff and brown too quickly.
Oh, yum! These look great. I am impressed. I have phyllo dough in my freezer that needs to be used. Now, I know what to do with it.
Lynn... thanks for the comment. This is a nice and simple recipe. I hope your pie turn out just as well!
Post a Comment