Green Pie With Ricotta

I’m sitting here in front of my laptop attempting to write about this green pie. I’m also IM-ing with my teammates about Sunday’s race, which is a bit distracting (a lot, actually).

In other words, I don’t have much faith in what I’m about to write and I have the feeling it would take me about an hour to draft two lame paragraphs to convey the following basic concepts.

This is a salty pie. Made with an olive oil crust to die for. It’s packed (literally packed) with greens (2 full pounds). A couple of free-range eggs and some fresh ricotta cheese. That simple.

But let’s take a step back. How about I tell you why I like this green pie?

First off it’s uber easy to make. It seems like a lot of work but it’s not. From the crust to the filling even my 10 year old niece can master this recipe.

I like that with just one slice you’re eating two serving of greens. Greens are good for you and this pie is loaded with them.

I also like that it’s a complete dish, in that it has all the nutrients you need. Which takes me to the next point, a slice of this pie and a couple of raw veggies on the side and lunch/dinner is served.

I now rest my case, but I’m sure there are a number of other valid points I can make, I just can’t seem to remember them right now. When I do, I’ll let you know.

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Greens. I tend to use whatever greens I have on hand. My very favorite is a version made with spinach and chard. This pie was a blend of kale, chard and spinach, also great. Play around!

Ingredients

Serves 8

Dough

1 cup / 250 ml water

2 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups / 14.1 oz / 400 gr whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Green Filling

2 lb / 1 kg greens (spinach, kale or swiss chard), coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 free range eggs

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of ground black pepper

1 cup / 8.8 oz / 250 gr ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons milk

Egg wash

1 free-range egg

2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Dough

In a large bowl mix water and salt until completely dissolved. Add flour and olive oil and mix well. Knead for a couple of minutes until a smooth, soft and pliable dough forms. Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 balls. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rest.

Filling

While the dough rests make the filling. Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in your largest soup pot. Add the onions and salt, and saute until the onions soften up, five minutes or so.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the spinach to the pan all at once, if possible. Cook, stirring all the while, until the spinach is collapsed and wilted, a couple of minutes. If you need to add the spinach in batches (adding more spinach as it collapses), that is fine too, just do it as quickly as possible.

Transfer to a bowl and let cool for a little bit. Add 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk ricotta cheese and milk until it reaches the consistency of thick yogurt. Set aside.

Assemble the pie

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C), place a rack in the middle.

Onto a floured surface with a rolling pin, roll out your pie crust top and bottom (one at a time). It doesn’t matter if your dough doesn’t roll out into perfect circles, you can trim the excess later. Just shoot for 11 or 12-inch rounds.

Lightly grease with olive oil a 10-inch pie plate and line it with the bottom piece of the pie. Guide it into place without stretching. You want about an inch of dough extending past the rim of the pie plate and trim the excess with a sharp knife.

Fill the crust with the spinach mixture and level it with the help of a spatula.

Drop spoonfuls of the ricotta cream on top of the greens and using the back of the spoon, spread evenly.

Brush the rim of the bottom crust with some egg wash, then top with the other piece of the pie crust. Trim the crust a bit if needed, then press the top and the bottom crust at the edges.

Working around the rim, tuck the overhanging dough under itself, and crimp with a fork or flute using your fingers.

Brush the crust with more of the egg wash and bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes - until the crust is golden.

Let cool a bit, make generous slices and serve.

Nutrition facts

One serving of this green pie scores 205 calories, 10 grams of fat, 17.3 grams of carbs and 11.8 grams of fat.