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.
