Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Good old spinach pie


A great repository for leftover bits from other recipes.  I make it a little different each time.  Makes great lunch leftovers.  I'm always blown away that Jack will eat it.  I do a little dance every time he eats green things!

Spinach Pie (Adapted from a recipe from Betty Mason)
I make this all in my food processor.  This is more of a narrative than a standard recipe. 

With the grater blade on, shred 1 cup cheddar cheese in the food processor.  Switch to the regular blade to blend with one cup flour and 1/2 cup butter (I was out today and used shortening).  Add seasoning - salt, Old Bay, dry mustard, whatever you have.  Drizzle in water while pulsing until the dough clumps together.  Press it into a pie pan and set aside.

With the same dirty food processor bowl and blade, chop up 1/2 of an onion.  Add 10 ounces chopped spinach that you already thawed from frozen and squeezed out the excess water.  Add any other vegetables you want - today it was the remains of a jar of roasted red peppers.  Pulse a few times.  Add one cup milk and three eggs, pulse that a few times.  Add your choice of seasoning and any other chopped bits you like, usually meat or cheese.  I love feta and ham.  Today it was leftover lil' smokies from Edward's Meats and some cubes of aged British sharp cheddar.  Just be careful not to over blend at this point because you don't want to pulverize these last tasty add-ons. 

Pour the filling into the prepared crust, even out the liquidy and solid bits (it tends to clump in the middle with milk around the edges).  Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.  It will puff and get firm.  I like to aim for the point right before browning.  Let it cool quite a bit before serving. 

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