Easter Main Dish

[Guest guest]

Here's the other main dish recipe I was talking about. I've been making this

for Thanksgiving the past 3 years, and we really like it. The vegan option

instructions are at the end. You can prepare the filling the night before and

the assemble it the next day. If you're able to, you could assemble it in

advance and then bake it when you get to your destination. It is rather

time-consuming to make, but not difficult.

 

* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Harvest Vegetable Pie

 

Recipe By : Vegetarian Times

Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : Thanksgiving/Christmas Vegan

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

2 28 oz. cans whole tomatoes in tomato juice

2 cloves garlic -- minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 10 oz. bags washed ready to eat salad spinach OR

3 10 oz. pkgs. frozen chopped spinach -- thawed

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt -- divided

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper -- divided

2 pounds mushrooms, stems included, cleaned

4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup feta cheese -- crumbled

4 eggs (or Egg Beaters or substitute) -- beaten

1 cup mozzarella cheese -- divided

10 sheets phyllo dough

 

In large colander or sieve set over bowl, drain tomatoes. Save juice,

covered & refrigerated, for later use. Cut tomatoes in half; place cut side

down in colander; drain well. Squeeze seeds out of cut halves. Chop each tomato

half into 8 pieces.

Place tomatoes in lightly oiled 12-inch nonstick skillet. Saute over high

heat, stirring, until all juices have evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add garlic;

cook, stirring until garlic is soft, about 3 minutes. Add tomato paste; stir

gently to combine. Cook until no juice remains, about 5 minutes. Turn tomato

mixture onto large plate lined with paper towels to cool.

Cook spinach in batches with 1 cup water in skillet, covered, over high

heat until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Remove to colander to drain and

cool. Squeeze spinach by handfuls until very dry. (If using frozen chopped

thawed spinach, skip the cooking step and squeeze until no more moisture can be

extracted.)

Chop spinach finely with knife on cutting board. Return to colander to

drain. Squeeze a second time. In medium bowl, mix spinach with nutmeg, 1/2

tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Place on paper towel lined plate.

Trim woody ends from mushroom stems. In a food processor, using shredding

blade, shred mushrooms finely in batches. (Can mince with a knife in batches

on cutting board.) In lightly oiled skillet over high heat, saute mushrooms,

stirring, until all moisture evaporates, up to 20 minutes. Season with

remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Turn onto paper towel lined plate

to cool.

In lightly oiled skillet, saute onions with sugar, stirring, until onions

are caramelized but not burned, about 20 minutes. Turn out onto paper towel

lined plate to cool.

At this point, the four filling ingredients may be put into separate

self-seal plastic bags, each with a folded paper towel, and refrigerated.

TO ASSEMBLE PIE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix

together feta, eggs, and spinach.

Unfold phyllo sheets. Lay flat on length of waxed paper. Cover top

completely with clean damp towel. Lightly oil a 9 to 10-inch round springform

pan.

Remove one sheet of phyllo from top. Cover remaining sheets with a damp

towel. Working with the edges toward center, spray or brush phyllo sheet

lightly with olive oil or butter-flavored or olive oil cooking spray. Ease

sheet onto bottom of springform pan. Pat dough against sides; let excess hang

out over pan edge. Repeat with second sheet at an angle to first sheet. Repeat

with third, fourth, and fifth sheets at angles so all four quarters of the pan

are covered.

Layer in 4 additional oiled sheets. Oil both sides of an additional sheet

of phyllo; fold in half and ease into bottom of pan (for support of bottom of

pie).

Add fillings in layers as follows: spinach-feta-egg mixture, mushrooms,

1/2 cup mozzarella, tomatoes, 1/2 cup mozzarella, onions. Bring phyllo sheets

up over top of pie and spray lightly with oil.

Lightly oil another phyllo sheet. Cut into fourths, cutting along shot

side of rectangle. Fold each piece in half lengthwise. Roll up *loosely*

jelly-roll fashion. Pinch at bottom to make a rose and spread side slightly to

make petals. Repeat with each piece. Place 4 phyllo roses in center of pie,

pinching phyllo top to attach.

Place springform pan on baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in center of

oven until phyllo is golden brown and filling is completely cooked, about 1

hour. (If some areas, such as roses, begin to get too brown, cover those areas

with foil.)

Remove from oven. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. With a small thin spatula,

loosen phyllo from pan dies. Unclasp springform pan and remove sides. Lift pie

(leaving bottom of springform pan with pie) onto a serving plate. Decorate

sides of plate, if desired, with parsley, flowers, leaves, etc.

 

 

 

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NOTES : The success of this layered vegetable pie depends upon making sure all

ingredients are as dry as possible, so don't stint on cooking times. You can

make the four filling ingredients a day ahead and store them in the refrigerator

in plastic bags with a clean dry paper towel tucked in to absorb excess

moisture. Fresh spinach has a much better flavor than frozen. One 12-inch

skillet may be used to prepare each set of filling ingredients. Simply rinse

with hot water and dry in between.

 

VEGAN VARIATION: Omit eggs and feta in spinach layer and substitute 1/2 cup

shredded mozzarella-type soy cheese and 10 oz. package of Japanese-style firm

silken tofu that has been drained and pressed to extract moisture. In the

tomato and mushrooms layers, substitute 1/2 cup soy mozzarella for dairy cheese.