Vegetable Cheese Pie
- Ready In:
- 3hrs
- Ingredients:
- 19
- Serves:
-
8
ingredients
-
For Pastry
- 2 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1⁄4 cup shortening
- 4 -6 tablespoons ice water
- 1 large egg, beaten with 2 tbsp. water
-
For the Filling
- 10 ounces fresh Baby Spinach
- 2 medium leeks, chopped (pale green and white parts only)
- 1⁄4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, diced (1/4 inch dice)
- 2 cups diced zucchini (1/4 inch dice)
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 1⁄2 cups gruyere, coarsely grated
directions
- Make Pastry.
- Blend together flour, salt, butter, and shortening with your fingertips, or a pastry blender just until most of the mixture resemble coarse meal with small (roughly pea-sized) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 4 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.
- Squeeze a small handful: if it doesn't hold together, add ore ice eater 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture or pastry will be tough.)
- Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With the heel of your hand smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion. Gather dough together with a scraper and divide in half. Form into 2 balls, then flatten into 2 (5 inch disks). Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap until firm, about 1 hour.
- Roll out 1 disk (keep the other chilled) into an 11 inch round on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, then fit into pie plate. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2 inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp decoratively. Chill 30 minutes.
- Make Filling while Shell Chills.
- Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a 5 to 6 quart heavy pot. Stir in spinach and cook, covered over moderate heat until just wilted, approximately 1 minute. Drain in a colander and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze dry.
- Wash leeks in a bowl of cold water, then lift out and drain.
- Heat olive oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute red onion, leeks and carrots, stirring occasionally until onion is golden, about 6 minutes. Add zucchini, garlic, thyme 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 1/8 teaspoons pepper. Saute stirring occasionally, until zucchini is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Stir together ricotta, spinach, sauteed vegetables, Gruyere and the remaining 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/8 teaspoons pepper.
-
Assemble and Bake Pie:
- Put baking sheet in the middle of oven and preheat to 425°F
- Roll out remaining disk of dough into an 11 inch round on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin and cut into 10 (3/4 inch wide) strips. Spoon filling into chilled pie shell. Arrange 5 pastry strips, 3/4 inch apart, over filling, trimming ends of strips. Arrange the remaining 5 strips, 3/4 inch apart over the other strips to form a lattice pattern, trimming ends. Press ends of the lattice onto edge of pie shell.
- Brush egg wash over pastry lattice and edge. Bake on hot baking sheet until the pastry is golden and filling is set, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pie of a rack and cool to warm.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I am a classically trained chef and a grad of NECI in Vermont. I ran my own catering company for years and then decided to switch gears and go to law school. I now practice law and cook just for fun.
I enjoy cooking for friends and DH and I entertain regularly. I also cook for my three golden retrievers and have found several wonderful biscuit recipes here at Zaar.
I collect cookbooks and food literature. My all time favourite food writer is MFK Fisher. If you have not read it, I commend her short story "Borderland " to you. It is one of the most evocative pieces of food writing ever. My current favourite cookbook is "Urban Italian - Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food" by Andrew Carmelini.
For years I managed to hang on to all of my back issues of Gourmet some of which date back to the 1980's. Sadly, I recently lost that particular battle and to promote marital harmony, I am recycling my old mags but am posting my favorite Gourmet recipes along with some interesting ones worthy of a test drive.