Vegetable Pie!

One of my favorite dishes that I got to know during my time in Greece is a pie made with homemade phyllo. It can be any pie, from cheese pie to pumpkin pie, I eat them all.
My only wish is that it should be a homemade pie, cause the ones you buy at the shops have too much oil in them and the filling is sometimes too little. This may sound as a challenging recipe to you, but it's actually more based on practice than on real cooking knowledge.
I think you should give it a try, make a large pie, freeze half for a lazy kitchen day and enjoy something different on your dinner plate! I'm Dutch and I realize that it's not the smartest thing in the world to take on making my own phyllo, when real Greek women have been doing this for generation after generation, with great success if I may say so. Nevertheless it's time to learn something new, because life is all about adventure and I admit that after a couple of try outs my pie still needs work, but one day it will be perfect!
If after reading this you are already in need of a break, don't hesitate, just use store bought phyllo for your first attempt.
Cooking should be fun, not some kind of performance...
You choose what's good for you and, concerning the filling, I love all the wintergreens combined with feta cheese, that's why I want to share this recipe with you.
It's humble, healthy, homemade food !

Ingredients :
For the filling,
1 1/2 kilo mixed leafy greens, such a spinach, chard, kale etc. (washed and chopped)
2 large leeks, white and light green only, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
4 spring onions, chopped
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
350 gr. feta cheese ( crumbled)
3 eggs
1 tbs. virgin olive oil
fresh pepper

For the phyllo,
600 gr. white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. olive oil
warm water
2 tbs. wine vinegar
150 gr. unsalted butter


Start with heating up the olive oil in a large pan. Add your spring onions, stir them a bit and let them cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile you prepare the dough. Sieve the floor into a large bowl. Make a hole in the middle and add the oil, vinegar and salt. Sprinkle the salt on top and start mixing these ingredients with your hands. Slowly add water, you must take into account that you will need about half a cup of water, but perhaps you'll need more, depending on the quality of your flour. Knead your dough for at least 7 minutes, then form it into a ball, cover it with a damp towel and let it rest for about an hour. During this time you focus on the filling. Add the greens to the spring onions, even if it looks like it's too much to fit in your pan, don't panic, cause the vegetables will shrink tremendously, so just take your time, let the first part shrink a bit, then add some more, until you have added all the veggies to the pan. Finish with adding the parsley and dill. Leave the greens for about 15 minutes over medium heat. Season with pepper and add salt if you like. I prefer to skip the salt , because the feta cheese is already salty. Let the vegetables cool off a bit and then you crack the eggs inside, stir the filling and add the feta cheese. Check the seasoning, for you may want to add salt and definitely some fresh pepper.
When you've done all that, clean your working surface and sprinkle it with some flour. Divide the dough into 6 balls and role out one of the balls with a thin rolling pin. Keep rolling the dough until it becomes thin and large enough to cover a medium sized over proof dish. Melt the butter in a small pan and brush the bottom of your oven proof dish with a bit of this melted butter. Place your first phyllo on the bottom of your dish and make sure the sides are covered, so the filling will be safe later on. Brush the phyllo with some of the butter and continue with rolling out the next sheet of phyllo. Brush again with butter and make the last sheet for the down part of your pie. Remember to always brush every phyllo with butter before placing the next sheet on top. Cover with the filling and continue with the next sheet of phyllo. Do the same procedure with the rest of the sheets and put them all on top of your filling. While you're at it, preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. When you're done with your pie you take a small knife and remove the edges of the phyllo that are hanging over the sides of the oven proof dish and use your hands to wrap the phyllo around the filling, so it will all stay into place. Brush the remaining butter on top of the pie and carve the pie into individual servings, cause it will be more difficult once the pie is cooked. Place it in the middle of the oven and cook the vegetable pie for about an hour.

Serves 6 people with a glass of chilled white wine.

With love,
esther.