Spinach Pie

When you cook gluten free, it turns out that Spanikopita is impossible to find and a pain in the butt to make, because GF phyllo dough is the next thing to impossible. 

I've been making a medieval version of Spinach and Cheese Tarts for two decades, and it just last spring occurred to me that I could put spanikopita filling in a pie crust.

And then I had to find a filling recipe that I liked. 

And then tweak it...more than a little. 

Mostly because I started with Bon Appetit's spanikopita recipe and I don't have the budget or energy to go for fancy (fresh) ingredients, this needs to be made with what I consider pantry staples. 

So...most people don't consider feta a pantry staple, but I get an 8oz brick from Aldi and we make this just often enough that the sealed brick doesn't start to go off before one of us says "spinach pie for dinner?". You can also freeze it without major consequences to flavor or texture, it's just a pain to have to remember to thaw it before getting started on this recipe. 

I strongly recommend using a cheese crust for this, because it's a little bit more robust against the sogginess of the filling. On the other hand, if what you have is a pair of store bought crusts, use them. 

Fed is best. 

Spinach Pie: 

4 10oz bricks of spinach or 6 cups of frozen chopped spinach

¼ c olive oil

2 onions, diced/1.5 c diced onion/shallots/leeks

½ c pine nuts

Glob of minced garlic (at least 1T. Garlic is a vegetable. Increase as desired)

Salt and pepper

2 eggs

2 c crumbled feta and/or goat cheese

¼ c grated parmesan

1 T dried basil

1 T dried dill

2 tsp dried oregano

1 T lemon juice

2 pie crusts

Preheat the oven to 375. Start the spinach thawing in the microwave- we don't need it cooked, we need it to release most of the frozen water so we can drain it off. 

While the spinach is thawing, sauté the onion/scallions/garlic in the olive oil until translucent, then add the pine nuts for a minute or two before taking off the heat. 

Drain the water off the thawed spinach, as much as possible. Light squeezing is acceptable Add sautéed veg to the spinach and mix- this will cool down the onions/alliums enough that they won't cook the eggs/cheese when you get there, but also finish the thawing process on the spinach. Now add in cheese, eggs, herbs, salt & pepper, and lemon juice. If it feels runny/really liquid, add parmesan or flour or another egg to help as binder. 

Add filling to pie crust, cover with second pie crust, and bake for 40-50 min, until the crusts are starting to go tan. Then *let stand* for at least 10 min so that when you cut it, it mostly holds it's shape.