Greek Greens Pie Recipes

GREEK-STYLE DINNER PIE WITH LEFTOVER GREENS

Steps:

• In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• If using raw greens, add, stirring until wilted, 2 to 4 minutes depending on which greens are used. If using cooked greens, add, stirring just until heated. Add parsley and dill, and season with salt and pepper to taste
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 10-inch tart or pie pan with oil. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the feta and the greens mixture, and stir to combine.
• Spread a sheet of phyllo across the pan, so that the edges of it drape evenly over the pan. Gently fit the center of it into the base of the pan. Quickly and lightly, brush the phyllo with butter. Repeat with seven more sheets of phyllo, stacking them one on top of the other so that they form an asterisk pattern.
• Fill with the greens mixture, and fold the draped edges over to enclose the filling. Top with the remaining four sheets of phyllo, buttering each one, and again stacking in an asterisk pattern. Fold the edges under so that the dough extends about an inch beyond the rim of the pan, and then tuck the dough slightly into the pan, while rolling and twisting the edge under to shape a crust. Using a sharp knife, make several slashes through the top of the pie into the filling to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes.
• Bake the pie until the crust is crisp and golden brown, about 50 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. For a crispy crust, this is best served the same day baked.

GREEK GREENS PIE

Steps:

• If using spinach, it needs to be steamed 1 to 2 minutes to wilt; chard or beet greens need to steam 3 to 4 minutes to wilt.
• Transfer wilted greens to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking; squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
• Chop and set aside in a large bowl.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat and cook the onion, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes; add green onions and cook another minute.
• Stir in the greens and chopped herbs; season with salt and pepper and toss well.
• Stir in the feta cheese.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F; oil a 10 inch round baking dish or cake pan.
• In a medium saucepan, bring milk and 1/2 cup water to a simmer, over medium heat; add salt and slowly stream in the cornmeal while stirring with a whisk or wooden spoon to prevent clumping.
• Continue to stir until the mixture thickens like polenta.
• Remove from heat and spread half the mixture in your prepared pan in a thin, even layer; spread the greens over the cornmeal in another even layer.
• Dilute the remaining cornmeal with water until it resembles wet sand then stir in the remaining oil; spoon over the greens and smooth into an even layer (don't worry if it doesn't completely cover the greens).
• Bake until the top is browned, about 45 minutes to an hour.
• Remove and let sit for 30 minutes before cutting to allow the crusts to set up.
• NOTE: You can make this several hours before serving and heat in a slow oven. It is also good at room temperature. It will keep, refrigerated, 3 days.

CRISPY GREEK-STYLE PIE

Steps:

• Put the spinach into a large pan. Pour over a couple tbsp water, then cook until just wilted. Tip into a sieve, leave to cool a little, then squeeze out any excess water and roughly chop. Roughly chop the tomatoes and put into a bowl along with the spinach, feta and eggs. Mix well.
• Carefully unroll the filo pastry. Cover with some damp sheets of kitchen paper to stop it drying out. Take a sheet of pastry and brush liberally with some of the sundried tomato oil. Drape oil-side down in a 22cm loosebottomed cake tin so that some of the pastry hangs over the side. Brush oil on another piece of pastry and place in the tin, just a little further round. Keep placing the pastry pieces in the tin until you have roughly three layers, then spoon over the filling. Pull the sides into the middle, scrunch up and make sure the filling is covered. Brush with a little more oil.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Cook the pie for 30 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Remove from the cake tin, slice into wedges and serve with salad.

GREEK BEET AND BEET GREENS PIE

Steps:

• Roast beets as directed and allow to cool. Slip off skins and slice in rounds.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add beet greens. Blanch 1 minute, remove from water with a skimmer and transfer to a bowl of cold water. Drain and squeeze out excess water, taking greens up by the handful. Chop coarsely.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 5 to 8 minutes, and add garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, and stir in blanched greens and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until ingredients are mixed and remove from heat.
• Whisk eggs in a large bowl and crumble in feta. Whisk together, then stir in greens and beets. Add chopped fresh parsley, mint and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 375ºF. Combine butter and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a microwave-safe cup or bowl or in a small saucepan, and heat gently (50 percent power if using microwave) until butter has melted. Lightly brush a 10-inch straight-sided tart pan or cake pan, either ceramic or metal, with butter/oil mix.
• Lay a sheet of phyllo in the pan, tucking it into the seam, with edges overhanging the rim. Brush phyllo lightly with butter/oil mix and turn the pan slightly, then place another sheet on top, positioning it so the edges overlap another section of the pan's rim. Continue to layer in 5 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each one with butter and oil and staggering them so the overhang on the rim of the pan is evenly distributed and covers entire pan.
• Fill lined pan with beet and greens mix, scraping every last bit into the pan with a spatula, then fold overhanging phyllo edges in over the filling, brushing each one lightly with butter/oil mix. Layer remaining 5 sheets of dough over filling, brushing each sheet with butter and olive oil and rotating pan slightly after each addition. Crimp edges down into the sides of the pan. Brush top with butter and oil. Pierce top of pie in several places with a sharp knife. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until top is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Recrisp crust in a low oven for 10 to 20 minutes if necessary before serving.

SPANAKOPITA (GREEK GREENS PIE )

Steps:

• Cook spinach til tender; drain, lightly squeeze out excess water and place in med bowl. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice and rind to spinach; mix well. Set aside.
• Saute onions with spices in 2 tbsp olive oil until onions are transparent. Stir in rice, water and raisins; heat through. Set aside.
• In separate bowl, beat eggs lightly with pepper. Add feta cheese and mix well. Set aside.
• In a 9" oiled deep pie pan, lay one sheet of phyllo on the bottom of the pan and brush entire surface with melted butter. Top with 7 more sheets, one by one, brushing each and rotating each sheet 20 degrees. There will be over-hang.
• Over that, carefully layer the onion mixture, then the spinach, then the cheese.
• Cover with a top 'crust' of phyllo by repeating same procedure as step 4: Eight sheets, each brushed with butter and rotated.
• Roll-up the overhanging dough to form a seal. Brush top with melted butter.
• Bake 350 degrees, for 1/2 hour. Lay a piece of foil over top and continue to bake for another 1/2 hour or until done.
• Allow to cool to room temperature before eating.