Spinach Pie
I'm quite excited about it. Well, not the spinach pie, per se. Although it's pretty tasty. I'm more excited about what it stands in for: one of the recipes from our new book, REAL FOOD HAS CURVES, a step-by-step plan to get off all processed food. (It's available for pre-order on amazon here.) In seven steps, we go through the science of taste, the roots of overeating, their connection to processed food--and offer concrete ways to relearn satiety without a slather of tasteless fat, salt, and sugar. It's a guarantee to lose weight. But more important, to get off processed food for good.
Spinach pie is one of the recipes in the book--and here's a slightly morphed version, certainly in the spirit of the recipe that appears in the manuscript I just handed in.
First up, set the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Set out 6 phyllo sheets under plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel on your work surface.
Cork your sink and fill it up with cool water or fill a big bowl with cool water, as Bruce does. Add 1 pound torn spinach leaves. If the stems are quite pliable, you can keep them on the leaves. If not, cut them out. The only way to tell? Tear one stem and see if it's fibrous and tough inside. Even try to eat it raw. You'll know everything you need to know.
Agitate those torn bits of leaves in the water, then leave them there so any grit or sand will fall to the bottom.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl in 1 tablespoon olive oil, then drop in 1 chopped, small, yellow onion and 3 minced, medium garlic cloves. Stir those over the heat until the onion is translucent and soft.
Remove the spinach leaves from the water, shake them once to get rid of some of the moisture, and put them in the skillet, stirring over the heat until they begin to wilt. (Kitchen tongs work best.) If your skillet isn't enormous, you can do this task in batches, adding the leaves in large handfuls, stirring them in the skillet just until you can add more. Once all the leaves are in, cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and cook just until tender, about 3 minutes.
Scrape the entire contents of the skillet into a large food processor fitted with a chopping blade--and set aside for 5 minutes to cool. Then add 3 ounces finely grated aged Asiago, 1 large egg, 3 tablespoons packed tarragon leaves, 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a few dashes of a hot red chile sauce. Pulse this mixture until fairly well blended, almost a purée; then add 1/4 cup walnut pieces and 3 tablespoons raisins. Pulse just a couple times to blend and chop.
Place one phyllo sheet in a 9-inch square baking dish, letting the sides of the sheet overlap the edges but nonetheless gently pressing it down to conform to the baking dish's edges. Brush it with a little walnut oil, then add another sheet, setting it a different direction from the first. again overlapping the sides but allow it to fill the dish inside. Brush it with a little oil--then keep doing this with the remaining sheets, setting each one at a different angle from those that came before.
Pour in the spinach purée and spread it evenly to the corners of the baking dish. Fold the bits of phyllo hanging over the edge over the top of the spinach mixture so that they make a decorative covering without fully enclosing the casserole. Brush the top with a little oil.
Bake until the phyllo is crunchy and the filling is set when jiggled, about 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before cutting into 6 wedges to serve. What a great lunch with some iced tea and perhaps some sliced tomatoes sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and crunchy salt! Real food all the way, curvy and irresistible.
comfort food, lunch, spinach, vegan, vegetarian
Reader Comments (2)
Tried this tonight. It was easy and delicious. My husband surprised me by loving the sweetness the raisins added. Even my son who says he doesn't like spinach tried a bite and said it was good. I received Cooking Know-How for Christmas and am looking forward to Real Food Has Curves. Best of luck and thanks for the great blog.
Thanks, Robin, for trying this. And thanks for dropping a comment on the blog. We're really excited about the two new books this year--but COOKING KNOW-HOW is a work of the heart from us. I hope you enjoy it and use it well.
Mark