Sweet Potato and Greens Pie

I had a sweet potato that I needed to use, plus fresh chard from our garden, so I made a sweet potato and greens pie.

 

Ingredients:
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic, optional, depending on taste
2-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar

2 pounds greens (spinach, chard, cabbage, etc.) (if fresh, it should be washed carefully, and if frozen, it should be well thawed)

1 sweet potato

handful of black olives

1 dash salt

black pepper
1 package filo dough

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion. Mince the garlic, if using it. Preheat the oven to 190 C.
2. Gently fry the onion in some of the olive oil until golden, then add the garlic, if using it. Add the sugar so the onions caramelise.
3. Defrost the greens, if frozen, or steam it, if fresh. Add to the onion and garlic.
4. Thinly slice the sweet potato.
5. Chop the olives. Mix them into the greens. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Lightly oil a casserole dish. Line it with three sheets of filo, layered over one another so that the pieces hang over the edges of the dish.
7. Spread out some of the filling on top of the filo. Layer potato slices on top.
8. Place another sheet or two on top, then some more filling, then more potatoes. Repeat until the filling is all used up and then cover it with another sheet of dough. Brush it lightly with olive oil and tuck any excess edges in.
9. Bake the pie for 25-40 minutes, checking after about 20 minutes to see how golden and ready it is.
10. Serve and enjoy!

Vegan Pot Pie

I’ve posted a pot pie recipe before, but this time I made it completely vegan and in filo dough.

 

I also had leftover chestnuts, so I added them in for extra texture and flavour.

 

Ingredients:

2-3 carrots and/or parsnips, chopped into pieces

water or rice milk

1 celery stalk, chopped

1-2 cups frozen veggies (peas and corn are great)

2-3 garlic cloves, optional (for some extra flavour, I used black garlic)

1-2 stalks spring onion

1/3 cup flour

2/3 cup rice milk

1 vegetable stock cube

salt

black pepper

1 package filo dough (about 270 g)

 

Instructions:

1. Peel and dice the carrots and/or parsnips, then cook the pieces over medium heat until slightly soft in water or milk to cover (about 10 minutes).

2. Wash and chop the celery. Add it and the other veggies. Cook briefly, until defrosted.

3. Chop the garlic and onion and add it to the pan..

4. Add the flour, milk, stock cube, salt, and pepper. Cook a bit more over medium heat, stirring.

5. Put some filo on the bottom of a pan (if you want, you can bake it for 2-3 minutes first). Top it with the filling.

6. Add the rest of the filo on top.

7. Bake for 30 min at 220 C, until golden.

Apple and Vegetable Pie

I’d read a recipe that suggested making a mash out of apples instead of potatoes to use as a crust for a vegetable pie. M thought that sounded interesting but long-winded, so we decided to make a vegetable pie that included apples instead.

We used our typical vegan shortcrust pastry to make a nice pastry bottom and lid for the pie.

Ingredients:

200 g flour

110 g Cookeen (or margarine or butter)

1 tsp salt

2-4 tbsp cold water

1 onion

olive oil, plus a little extra to grease the pan

2 Bramley apples

1 parsnip

1 carrot

1 baking potato

1 stock cube

100-200 ml water

1 tbsp tomato puree

herbs (rosemary, mint, parsley, for example)

Instructions:

1. Make the pastry by mixing the flour, fat, salt, and cold water together. Set in the fridge while you make the rest.

2. Peel and dice the onion. Fry it lightly in olive oil.

3. Peel and dice the parsnip, carrot, and potato. Add them and the stock cube to the pot and cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the water, cover, and let cook for 10-15 minutes.

5. Uncover and let the water cook away (this takes another 10 minutes).

6. Mix in the tomato puree and herbs.

7. Roll out the pastry and put it in a lightly greased oven-safe dish. Fill with the vegetables and fold the pastry over it, so there is a lid. Crimp the edges.

8. Cook at 200 C for 20-30 minutes.

Savoury Carrot Pie

This can also be easily varied with different vegetables or different spices or herbs. I thought this worked quite well and was something different.

Ingredients:

1 onion

1-2 garlic cloves

oil

2 tsp honey

2-4 small potatoes

3-5 carrots

1 courgette, optional

milk or water

1 lemon

2 tsp cinnamon

2-4 stalks dill

filo dough

70 g hazelnuts or almonds, chopped

Instructions:

1. Peel and dice the onion and garlic. Soften them in oil in a large saucepan over low heat, then add the honey, so they caramelise.

2. Thinly slice the potatoes and add them to the pan. Chop the carrots and add them. Slice the courgette, if using, and add it too.

3. Add a little water or milk, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring now and then. Add more liquid if the vegetables start sticking to the bottom of the pan.

4. Add the lemon zest and juice from half the lemon and the cinnamon. Wash the dill and snip it into the mixture as well.

5. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blitz a bit at a time until it’s the desired consistency (some people like it smooth; I left it slightly chunky); you can also use a hand mixer.

6. Lightly oil an oven-safe dish. Spread 3 pieces of filo dough across the bottom, then top it with some of the carrot mixture. Squeeze a little lemon juice on top, then sprinkle with nuts.

7. Top with 2 more pieces of filo dough, then more carrot mixture, lemon juice, and nuts. You can do one more layer if you like or just do two. Top with 2 more pieces of filo.

8. Bake at 180 C for about 30 minutes.

Rhubarb Meringue Pie

This is delicious and looks gorgeous on a table.

Ingredients:

1 portion sweet shortcrust pastry (see previous recipes)

2 portions rhubarb curd (see previous recipes)

1 portion meringue (see previous recipes)

Instructions:

1. Roll out the dough and place it in a pie dish. Pre-bake for 5-10 minutes at 190 C.

2. Pour the curd on top of the pastry. Bake for 20-30 minutes until set.

3. Spoon the meringue on top (into any pattern or style you want). Bake for 10-12 minutes.

4. Let cool, then serve.

Meringue

You can bake this meringue into cookies or nests or you can spoon it on top of pie for a beautiful meringue topping. See the next post for an example.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

160 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla, optional

Instructions:

1. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually add the sugar and, if using, the vanilla, continuing to whisk.

2. Spoon onto a baking tray and bake into meringue cookies (or nests for fruit) or put on top of a pie and then bake for 10 minutes at 180 C.

Artichoke Pie

This was delicious with Jules and Sharpie’s spicy mint sauce.

Ingredients:

100 g spring greens or spinach

oil

1 tsp honey

2 tsp tamari

1 tin artichoke hearts

1 container tofu

2 eggs

phyllo dough

Instructions:

1. Wash and chop the greens/spinach. Steam or stir-fry with the oil, honey, and tamari until wilted.

2. Drain and chop the artichokes and chop the tofu. Mix them and two eggs with the greens.

3. Lightly oil an oven-safe dish. Place two sheets of phyllo on the bottom. Top with some of the mixture.

4. Place another sheet on top, then add the rest of the mixture. Top with another sheet of phyllo.

5. Fold the dough so it forms a package and brush a little oil on top.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 200 C.

Lemony Pie Crust

This is a simple pie crust, which you can use underneath any savoury pie. I like it under a spinach quiche. You can replace the butter with oil if you want to go vegan. If you also add sugar, you can make this appropriate for a sweet pie.

Ingredients:
150 g butter
1¼ cups flour
1/8 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Soften and cube the butter, then mix it with the flour, water, and lemon juice.
2. Put in the refrigerator for 20 or so minutes, then roll out and put in a pie dish.

Lentil Pie

A hearty lentil pie is simple, healthy, and tasty. I like to season it with a bit of cinnamon, which adds an exotic tinge, but it’s easy to vary the spices according to your taste.

Ingredients:
1½ cups lentils (I use puy lentils)
3 cups water
1 vegetable stock cube
2 carrots
1 parsnip
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
oil
cinnamon
black pepper
1 handful cherry tomatoes
1 package puff pastry
Greek yogurt, to serve with

Instructions:
1. Rinse the lentils, then boil them in the water with the stock cube. This will take about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. If you use regular lentils, they may need to be soaked for a couple of hours and/or boiled longer. Check the package.
2. Peel and dice the carrots and parsnip. Dice the shallots and garlic. Lightly fry in oil and season with cinnamon and black pepper.
3. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes.
4. Lightly oil an oven-safe dish and drape the puff pastry in it.
5. Mix the lentils, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Season more if necessary.
6. Bake at 200 C for about 25 minutes. Serve slices with Greek yogurt.

Leek, Spinach, and Artichoke Pie

Yet again I couldn’t sleep, so I sneaked out of bed and warmed up a croissant and sat down in the living room to flip through some food magazines. I don’t know why I thought reading recipes would make me sleepy, because really what happened is that I started getting ideas and I just wanted to run to the grocery store, get ingredients, and spend the rest of the night cooking.

I noticed a few recipes for pies with leeks and other vegetables. I love pies and casseroles and all such things, because a) they can be made in advance (even frozen for days or weeks, if necessary, before being warmed in the oven), b) they are pretty large, so there are always leftovers, and c) they are so comforting. They come out of the oven steaming and with a golden crust, luscious smells escaping from the dish. Yum.

I had a few leeks that needed to be used in a hurry, so I started thinking about what other vegetables I could have with them. And though it’s autumn, I thought that a very green pie would be nice. So it turned into a leek, spinach, and artichoke pie. I took out a piece of paper and scribbled a shopping list that I could give M in the morning. I asked her to pick up some blue cheese to add to it. I had Stilton in mind, but she got Shropshire Blue, and the slightly milder taste of the Shropshire worked really well with the pie. The whole thing turned out pretty well for a recipe created in the middle of the night.

Ingredients:
1 package puff pastry dough
3-4 leeks
olive oil
1 tsp sugar
500 g spinach (frozen or fresh)
6-8 artichoke hearts
200 g blue cheese
2 eggs
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Put the dough in a dish, oiling the dish if necessary. If you have more dough than fits in the dish, save some for a cover for the pie. Pre-bake the dough for 5 minutes at 200 C.
2. Chop the leeks and gently brown them in oil and sugar. Add the spinach. If it is frozen, defrost it first.
3. Chop the artichokes and crumble the cheese. Add them both to the leeks.
4. Lightly beat the eggs and mix them into the rest of the ingredients. Season with black pepper.
5. Put the mixture into the dish. If you had dough leftover, add it as a cover.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 200 C.

Spanokopita, or Spinach and Feta Pie

Spinach is my favourite vegetable, perhaps because my body craves iron. Whatever the reason, it was the obvious choice for my birthday dinner. Spinach and feta are a great combination and I like to make a hearty filling out of them that I wrap up in delicate filo (also spelled phyllo) dough, but puff pastry works fine too.

Ingredients:
1-2 onions, depending on how oniony you like it
2-3 cloves garlic, optional, also depending on taste
2-4 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
2 cups feta cheese (or 1 cup feta plus 1 cup cottage cheese, if you want lower fat)
2 pounds spinach (if fresh, it should be washed carefully, and if frozen, it should be well thawed)
5-6 artichoke hearts in oil
handful of black olives
1 package phyllo dough

Instructions:

1. Chop the onion/s. Mince the garlic, if using it. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
2. Gently fry the onions in some of the olive oil until golden, then add the garlic, if using it. (This step can be skipped if you would prefer slightly crunchy and more strongly flavored onions in the pie.)
3. Beat the eggs lightly.
4. Crumble the feta. Mix the feta with the cottage cheese, if using it.
5. Blend the eggs, cheese/s, spinach, onion, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Chop the artichokes and olives and add them to the mixture.
6. Lightly oil a casserole dish. Line it with one sheet of phyllo, then brush that sheet with oil, and add another sheet on top.
7. Spread out some of the filling on top of the phyllo.
8. Place another sheet on top, then some more filling. Repeat until the filling is all used up and then cover it with another sheet of dough. Brush it lightly with olive oil (or beaten egg yolk, if you prefer) and tuck any excess edges in.
9. Bake the spanokopita for 30-50 minutes, checking after about 25 minutes to see how golden and ready it is.
10. Serve and enjoy!