Phyllo vegetable pie

1

PREP TIME

30 min

Makes

8 to 12 wedges

* PLUS Cooking time: 8 minutes, Baking Time: 240 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups cooked rice , about 1 cup dry rice, cooked
  • 1 cup ricotta , about 1/2 475-g container
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 onion , chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 1/2 tsp hot-red-chili-flakes , optional
  • 2 300-g pkgs fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
  • 6 sheets phyllo pastry
  • 4 to 6 tbsp olive oil , or melted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups thick tomato sauce

Instructions

  • To prepare rice layer, finely grate 1 teaspoon lemon peel and squeeze out 1 tablespoon juice. Beat egg in a mixing bowl and stir in cooked rice, ricotta, 1 cup grated mozzarella, 1 teaspoon peel and 1 tablespoon juice.
  • To prepare spinach layer, heat oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and hot red pepper flakes. Sauté until onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Wash and tear spinach into bite-size pieces, discarding stems. Add to softened onions and sprinkle with raisins, cinnamon and salt. Stir occasionally just until wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella.
  • Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). To assemble pie, have fillings ready since phyllo dries out quickly. Lay a piece of phyllo on a cutting board, covering remaining phyllo with plastic wrap until ready to use. Lightly brush both sides with oil. Place in a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate so one edge of phyllo is even with edge of oiled plate, covering bottom and sides and extending beyond the rim on the other side. Repeat with remaining phyllo, placing each into pie plate so the longer ends are evenly spaced in a circular pattern around rim.
  • Pour half of rice mixture into plate and smooth. Top with half of spinach mixture, then spread with 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce. Repeat, ending with 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce. Bring hanging ends of phyllo up over filling. Phyllo should have a rough appearance. Do not pat down ends of phyllo. Bake in centre of preheated oven until phyllo is golden and centre of filling is hot, about 1-1/4 hours. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing into wedges. Since phyllo quickly loses its crispness, this pie is best served on the day it is made.

Nutrition (per serving)

  • Calories
  • 284,
  • Protein
  • 10.2 g,
  • Carbohydrates
  • 31.6 g,
  • Fat
  • 13.6 g,

You won’t miss the meat in this vegetarian dish. Flaky layers of phyllo surround layers of creamy rice and spinach, subtly spiced with the tastes of Morocco–cinnamon, raisins and lemon.

Make ahead

Pie can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 1 day. To bake, preheat oven to 375F (190C). Remove wrapping and bake cold pie in centre of oven until centre of filling is hot, about 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours.

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