Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie (Appetizer Style) - Low Carb & Gluten Free

Happy 1st day of fall! This evening I was in the mood for my Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie. It's been a while since I've made it and it's one of my favorites. I decided to tweak it slightly to make it in a more traditional rectangular shape (instead of my usual pie style cut in wedges) to make it more versatile and "appetizer/party friendly". It turned out amazing and is the perfect shape to prepare and serve cut into squares for appetizers or simply as a meal. This evening we cut it into larger portion sized squares. It can easily be cut into smaller squares and placed on a platter and served as an appetizer for parties or holiday gatherings. I will definitely be preparing it this way for the upcoming holidays. I snapped a few photos and included my slightly modified recipe below. Enjoy!

*PS - Stay tuned for a NEW recipe coming tomorrow...you are going to LOVE it!








Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups almond flour
3 tablespoons cold butter, diced into small cubes
1 egg
1 teaspoon Greek Seasoning, optional (I use Penzeys)

Filling:

16 oz. fresh spinach (cooked, squeezed dry and coarsely chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
5 sliced green spring onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 to 2 teaspoons, if using fresh)
1 to 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 large eggs
1/2 cup cream or milk

Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 13" x 9" baking dish or pan.

Place all crust ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut butter and egg into flour with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles small pebbles and the flour is thoroughly moistened (the same way you prepare a pie crust). Press crust mixture evenly on bottom of baking dish. Bake crust for 15 minutes; remove from oven and set aside.

While crust is baking, prepare filling. In a non-stick skillet, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute spinach, just until wilted.  Drain and press as much liquid out of the spinach as possible (I use a mesh strainer and press it with the back of a large spoon). Coarsely chop spinach and place in a medium bowl. Add cooked onions and garlic, feta, dill, lemon zest, pepper, eggs and cream. Mix until combined; pour and spread mixture evenly over lightly baked crust. Bake 30 minutes or until done. If the center seems jiggly when lightly shaken, cook for an additional few minutes.


         

6 comments:

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

LOL! Just yesterday I bought a box of spinach from Sam's Club and today I made the pie shell and put it in the freezer (unbaked) for later in the week. How's *that* for great minds thinking alike? :-) It'll be my first time using a frozen almond flour crust and I'm interested to see how it turns out. (Sometimes it works better for me to prepare a recipe in "stages" so I'll appreciate having the crust ready to go.)

That being said, I like the rectangular shape *a lot* ... plus it seems it might be an easier way to do the crust. If I hadn't already prepped my pie shell I'd have made it that way this go 'round. I definitely plan to make it rectangular next time. Thanks for the idea! :-)

Lovely weather is continuing around here. It's supposed to go at least through the middle of next week. We could use some rain, but it's been so incredibly pleasant lately that I don't want to think about that!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Yes, obviously great minds DO think alike! I'm curious to hear how your frozen almond flour crust turns out! I'm assuming you will use it frozen and not thaw first? I agree with you about the stages. One of these days I'm going to go ahead and prepare the crust ahead and refrigerate it and even cook the spinach, onions, etc. beforehand and then just mix it with eggs and feta and pour it into the already made crust.

It really was easy to simply press the dough flat in the bottom of the pan for this rectangular version and it didn't take as long to bake either, I'm guessing because it was thinner and more spread out than in a pie plate. This may end up being my new "go to" way to make this dish. Also, I like using the entire pound container of spinach and simply adding an extra egg and more feta if you choose is nice, too. I had it again for lunch today and will probably have it for dinner tonight as well. I may just wake up with "green eyes" tomorrow! Or...start sounds like Popeye!

It has been cooler here the last couple of days but a little humid, not crisp. I'm keeping my fingers crossed our weather forecast of highs in the 60s Saturday holds up. We actually had a little rain late today and I think more tonight. Glad you are enjoying pleasant weather and I hope to be soon as well. :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

We had the pie tonight. The frozen crust turned out great and it was nice to have it prepped ahead of time. I would definitely make it in advance again. Since I'd used a glass Pyrex pie plate and didn't want to risk cracking it I decided to bring it to room temp before baking. I'd forgotten that, instead of spinach, I'd picked up a 16-oz box of Taylor Farms "Organic Power Greens--Kale Medley" from Sam's Club to try. It contains spinach, kale, chard (all baby size) and a small amount of shredded carrot. It made a very yummy pie. Spinach is probably still my all-time favorite, though ... I'm a fan of ol' Popeye, too! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

Good to know the frozen crust worked nicely. I forgot to ask if you pre-baked it before freezing or was it raw when you froze it?

Sounds like a nice greens mic though! Popeye fans unite! :-)

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

I thought about pre-baking it before freezing, but figured I might get into less trouble if I froze it raw, so that's what I did. Since it was only a couple of days before I was going to bake it, I could have just refrigerated it, but I happened to have more room in the freezer right then. :-) I imagine you could keep it frozen for a few weeks, anyway, which might come in handy for the holidays.

Mattie said...

Do you think you would be able to substitute flaxseed meal for the almond flour? Thanks!