Rustic Greek Pie Recipes

RUSTIC GREEK PIE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 210°C (415°F/Gas 6-7). Squeeze out the excess liquid from the spinach. 2. Place the pastry on a baking tray and spread the spinach in the middle, leaving a 3 cm (1 1/4 inch) border around the edge. Sprinkle the garlic over the spinach and pile the haloumi and feta on top. Sprinkle with the oregano and season well. Cut a short slit into each corner of the pastry, then tuck each side of the pastry over to form a border around the filling. 3. Lightly beat the eggs with the cream and carefully pour the egg mixture over the filling. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling has set. Serve with the lemon wedges.

RUSTIC PIES/GALETTES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Stir together the prepared fruit, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and spices and/or seasonings in a large bowl until combined.
• On a well-floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large circle, about 12 to 14 inches. Make sure the rolled dough is chilled. Spoon the fruit mixture onto the center of the dough leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, pleating the dough, then dot the fruit filling with the butter pieces. Lightly brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons sugar.
• Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Cover the crust with foil if the crust browns too quickly. Cool.
• Serve the warm galette with ice cream.
• Cook's Note: The same recipe can be made in individual serving sizes.
• To make pie dough:
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and the salt; cut or work the butter into the flour with your fingers or a pastry blender until you have large pea sized chunks scattered throughout. Alternatively, pulse the dough in a food processor, or mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed.
• Add the ice water slowly while stirring with a fork, or in the food processor or mixer, until just combined. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 2 disks, flatten and refrigerate each for at least 15 minutes.
• Roll out one chilled pie dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Reserve the second pie dough disc for another use. Transfer dough to pie plate, pressing the dough lightly into the plate; trim the edges. Dock the dough with the prongs of a fork evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Line the docked dough with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake the pie crust until the edges are brown and golden, about 15 minutes Remove from the oven and remove the weights. Return crust to the oven to finish baking for another 5 minutes.
• Rustic Pie/Galette Variations:
• Almond Apricot: Season the sliced apricots with almond paste or extract.
• Spiced-Apple Pear: Season the sliced apples and pears with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.
• All-Berry: Fill the baked crust with pastry cream and top with sweetened berries.
• Caramelized Onion and Walnut: Caramelize 4 Spanish onions; let cool. Top the dough with grated Gruyere cheese and spread the onions and toasted walnuts over the cheese.

RUSTIC GREEK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to moderately hot 200oC (400oF).
• Squeeze the excess liquid from the spinach.
• Place the pastry sheet on a baking tray and spread the spinach in the middle, leaving a 3cm (1 1/4 inch) border.
• Sprinkle the garlic over the spinach and pile the haloumi and feta on top.
• Sprinkle with oregano and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Cut a short slit into each corner of the pastry sheet, then tuck each side of the pastry over to form a border around the filling.
• Lightly beat the eggs with the cream and carefully pour the egg mixture over the spinach filling.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set.
• Cut into four portions and serve with lemon wedges and a green salad.
• Note: If haloumi cheese is not available use all feta instead.

RUSTIC GREEK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to moderately hot 200oC (400oF).
• Squeeze the excess liquid from the spinach.
• Place the pastry sheet on a baking tray and spread the spinach in the middle, leaving a 3cm (1 1/4 inch) border.
• Sprinkle the garlic over the spinach and pile the haloumi and feta on top.
• Sprinkle with oregano and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Cut a short slit into each corner of the pastry sheet, then tuck each side of the pastry over to form a border around the filling.
• Lightly beat the eggs with the cream and carefully pour the egg mixture over the spinach filling.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is set.
• Cut into four portions and serve with lemon wedges and a green salad.
• Note: If haloumi cheese is not available use all feta instead.

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.

SPANAKOPITA (GREEK SPINACH PIE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.

RUSTIC CHICKEN POT PIE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, crisp the bacon until golden brown. Drain and crumble the bacon; set aside. Add butter to the pan with the bacon drippings. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes, making sure to scrape up any bits left over from the bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the vegetables to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until slightly tender but still firm.
• Add the chicken and the flour to the vegetables. Mix to combine. Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil to thicken. Once the filling has thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated, take the skillet off the heat. Stir in half of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Roll out 1 sheet of the puff pastry until it is large enough to cover a 9-inch dish. Place the pastry in the greased 9-inch dish. Fill pastry with filling. Top with the remaining cheese and bacon. Roll out the remaining sheet of puff pastry. Gently score the pastry in a crisscross pattern with a paring knife and place the pastry on top of the filling. Fold over and tuck in any remaining pastry.
• Brush with the slightly beaten egg. Place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. Place the chilled potpie on a rimmed baking sheet lined with Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffy. Serve immediately.

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.