HORTOPITA: GREENS PIE; CROSTATA STYLE
Yield:
6-8
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 1 pound unsalted butter, softened
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups all purpose flour
For the filling:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 leek, finely sliced
- 1 leek, finely sliced and washed thoroughly
- 6-7 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 pound kale greens, washed
- 1 pound baby spinach leaves,
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- 1 and 1/2 cups feta cheese crumbled
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 bread crumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Begin by making the pastry dough. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the flour in thirds until incorporated.
- Collect all the dough on the counter and form a round ball. Cut into two equal portions and form each part into a round. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes till 1 hour to allow to rest and harden a bit. Freeze the other portion up to a month.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add kale and boil until tender. If using regular kale with thick stems it will take about 15-20 minutes. The baby kale takes about 5-10 minutes. During the last minute of boiling add the baby spinach leaves and let them sit in the hot water for about 1-2 minutes. Drain into a colander and press the greens to strain most of their liquids.
- Allow to cool and then roughly chop the greens.
- Place the olive oil in a pan and sauté the leeks over medium heat until soft. About 5 minutes. Add chopped scallions and cook another 5 minutes until they are all nice and soft.
- Place the chopped boiled greens in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked leek with scallions, breadcrumbs, the mint, parsley and dill and mix well. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the crumbled feta cheese and mix well. Taste and add more seasoning if desired.
- Beat the egg and add to the greens mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Roll pastry to 14 inch round. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Place filling in center.
- Fold extra dough over filling. Pie should be 9-10 inches round after folded.
- Bake 50 minutes till 1 hour.
- Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 115 minutes before slicing.
- Enjoy!
Made this exactly as written with the exception of the pastry – I cut the recipe in half just because my freezer is bursting at the seams. For my taste, I would have added some parmesan and reduced the amount of feta as it was a bit strong. The pastry was delicious and flakey. To me, it needed some salt, so maybe substitute salted butter for unsalted. All-in-all, I would give this a 4 out of 5. Love trying your recipes!
Note to novice cooks: this is fairly labor intensive.