Veggie Pie with Spinach Pastry Crust contains loads of vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, onions, carrots, spinach) combined with creamy ricotta, pecorino romano, and feta cheeses, and baked in a tasty spinach pastry crust, a perfected dynamic duo of crust and filling.
Yep, take a look at that beautiful pie; a thing of great beauty. Sometimes it’s hard to cut into a gorgeous pie; but when you’re starving the knife slides right on in without hesitation. Plus, I was so excited to see a slice of the inside I could barely wait.
In particular, one part I truly love is that the zucchini and tomatoes are tender with a slight firmness, nothing mushy about them!!! What’s not to love about everything in this seasoned veggie-cheese filling & spinach crust. Undeniably it’s dang delicious!
What is Spinach Pastry Crust?
Spinach pastry crust is simply Grandma’s Pie Crust, with the addition of Dried Spinach Powder. The mystery is over and if you’re into green, it may just be your next favorite savory crust.
Creating spinach pastry crust is the same process as Grandma’s Pie Crust. Dry ingredients, including the dried spinach powder, are cut in with butter/shortening, and cold water to turn into magical green dough. The dough turns into a beautiful bright green. Kermit fans unite! You can make it by hand, but sometimes I use my big fatty KitchenAid standup mixer. It’s a large batch and if you pulse it on/off it goes quickly without over mixing.
Vegetable preparation is next. The tomatoes & zucchini are tossed with a little salt and placed in paper toweling to absorb the extra liquid for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the carrots, onions, and garlic are sauteed until the carrots are tender, and the frozen spinach is thawed, drained and “chopped.” The packages say “chopped” but really, are they?
Combine the prepped veggies with the cheeses, eggs and seasonings. Once the filling is combined, set aside the filling and get out the springform pan.
On a floured parchment sheet, roll out one-half of the dough to about 13-inch circle if using a 9-inch springform pan (for 10-inch pan roll out to about 14-inch circle). Check out this Farberware rolling pin if you are needing one.
Pick up the parchment, flip (carefully) over the pan and gently press into place in a 9-inch springform pan. If there are tears, push back together, this is a forgiving dough. However, DO NOT TRIM EDGES. Add in the filling and fold the edges over on top of filling.
Roll out remaining dough and cut pieces into leaf shapes, free-hand; cut the leave edges and score the middle of the leaves. Place around the top of the pie, leaving some spaces for steam to vent out.
Bake for 70 minutes at 350 F. Make sure and place a parchment lined baking sheet under the pie as butter can drip from the pan while baking.
Let cool for about 20 minutes, release outer springform pan, and serve warm.
On the whole, as in all recipes, if there’s an ingredient you do not like, please find a substitute. By all means, make this pie your own! For instance: Kale for spinach, sauteed red bell pepper for tomatoes, or yellow squash for zucchini. You can substitute more spinach and omit squash all together. Catering this veggie pie to appease you and yours is easy peasy.
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Veggie Pie with Spinach Pastry Crust
Equipment
- One 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan
Ingredients
Veggie Pie Filling
- 2 roma tomatoes, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1-1/2 cups)
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1-1/2 cups)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium sweet Vidalia onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- 2 medium sized carrots, diced (about 1-1/2 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 or 12 ounce pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed (squeezed dry in tea towel or paper towels)
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- One 15 ounce container ricotta
- 6 ounce crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (may substitute Parmesan)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Everything Seasoning
- 1 recipe Spinach Pastry Crust
Spinach Pastry Crust
- 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may substitute Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour)
- 1/4 cup powdered dried spinach (see blog for link above)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cup cold water
Instructions
Spinach Pastry Crust
- In a large bowl stir all of the dry ingredients together, flour, baking powder, spinach powder, and salt.
- Use a large serving fork or pastry cutter and cut in the butter and shortening until crumbly and pea-sized.
- Add in the cold water all at once and stir until it comes together in a ball.
Veggie Pie Filling
- In a medium sized bowl, toss the chopped tomatoes, zucchini and 1/2-teaspoon salt. Place 2 layers of paper toweling onto a baking sheet, spread out tomatoes and zucchini. The salt will draw out extra liquid while you are preparing the rest of the pie.
- For the spinach; place a kitchen tea towel or 3 to 4 layers of paper toweling in a colander. Place the thawed spinach on top and twist up in towel or paper towels and squeeze out the extra liquid (discard liquid).
- Place the squeezed spinach mound (brick) on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut through entire spinach mound vertically & horizontally (I find large pieces of spinach not chopped enough for my liking). Now, like the package says, it is ACTUALLY chopped.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil, and add diced onion, garlic and chopped carrots. Saute for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the carrots to be sure they are cooked through and tender. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
- In a separate large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Stir in ricotta, feta, Romano, parsley, dill, salt & pepper. Stire in the the chopped spinach, the tomatoes & zucchini, and entire contents of skillet (sauteed onion, garlic, carrots).
Assembly & Baking
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Roll out half of the spinach pastry dough to about 1/4-inch thick on a floured piece of parchment paper (13-inches for 9-inch springform pan, 14-inches for 10-inch pan).
- Carefully invert the rolled out dough and gently press into the springform pan. DO NOT TRIM. Pinch together any tears or holes.
- Add the veggie filling and spread top to flatten. Fold over the edges of the dough.
- Roll out remaining dough and cut in various leaf shapes, free hand or with cookie cutters. You can make imprints of leaf veins with the back of a knife, and just have fun decorating your vegetable pie creation.
- Brush with egg wash and bake 70 minutes at 350 F. Make sure to place a parchment lined baking sheet on the rack under the pie to catch metled butter drips from crust.
- Let cool 15 to 20 minutes, release outer springform and serve warm.
