Recipe: Kale, Mushroom & Feta Savory Pie

This savory pie is a take on Greek Spanakopita, and it makes a nice brunch, lunch or light dinner dish.  It is perfect to serve as part of a party buffet, or for a sit down meal with Greek chicken, salad or soup.  It's delicious and fairly healthy - a great way to get in some veggies.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 cup of mixed mushrooms, Shiitake and button are a good combination for this, roughly chopped
1 leek or 2 spring onions, finely chopped until the middle of the green
8 ounces of feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
Olive oil
10 sheets of filo pastry
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

In a pan on the stove, heat the garlic in olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes before adding the kale.  Gently wilt (you may want to add a splash of water and cover for a minute) and then transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.

In a new pan, heat more olive oil over medium heat, then add the leeks or spring onions, and the mushrooms.  Sautée until tender, and then remove from heat and add to the bowl of kale.

Add the feta, lemon juice and zest, and herbes to the kale and mushroom mixture.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, then combine everything well.

Place the filo pastry sheets on a clean, dry surface, and gently brush each sheet with olive oil before layering it in a baking pan - depending on the size of your pan, you may need to fold the sheets slightly, but it's okay to have rough or uneven layers or edges.

After 4 layers of filo, spoon half the kale & mushroom mixture over the pastry and spread evenly. Continue layering with four more pieces of oil-brushed pastry. Spoon in the remaining half of the filling and top with the remaining pastry sheets.

Brush the top with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with additional herbes de Provence.

Bake for approximately 40 minutes, until golden and crispy.  If it's getting too brown, you can add a sheet of aluminum foil over the top for the last ten minutes.

Let cool slightly before serving.

Recipe: Sourdough Stuffing with Kale, Dates, and Turkey Sausage

This week, the New York Times released Thanksgiving recipes celebrating the cuisine of each of the fifty states, and we love their choice for California.  From one of our favorite SoCal chefs, A.O.C.'s Suzanne Goin, this menu showcases one of our favorite NorCal foods: sourdough bread.  We have made some very similar stuffings for our Californian Thanksgivings over the years, and can't wait to try this one next week.

You can see the stuffing recipe here, and the full list of recipes here.

Image via Google/The New York Times

Recipe: Fall Pasta Bake

We love fall vegetables, and this dish showcases several of them in a hearty, vegetarian pasta bake.  This is a great pasta for a cozy dinner party, or to cook at the beginning of the week and save - leftovers will be good for a few days, or could even be frozen.  

Ingredients:

14 ounces of penne

1 pound of cubed butternut squash

1 bunch of Tuscan kale, roughly chopped

1/2 pound of cremini mushrooms, chopped

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 large shallot, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

1/2 cup of chicken broth

1 15-ounce container of ricotta cheese

1 8-ounce ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, grated

2 cups of tomato sauce (whatever kind you prefer, we like Vodka sauce in this recipe)

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cook the pasta to package instructions and set aside.

Boil water in a separate pot, and add the butternut squash.  Boil until tender, about ten minutes.  Strain, allow to cool slightly, and mash the squash.

In a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over low to medium heat.  Add the shallot, cook for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.  Add the mushroom and kale, then stir and cook down for 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and cover until it cooks down, about 5 more minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, tomato sauce, butternut squash, kale-mushroom mixture, ricotta, and mozzarella.  

Use the last of the olive oil to coat a 9x9" baking dish, then add the ingredients, packing tightly.

Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes, removing foil only for the last 5 minutes to allow a light crust to form.

Allow to cool slightly, and serve.  This slices like a lasagna, but often breaks apart once served, as it isn't so well stacked.  

Serves 8.

 

 

Thanksgiving Recipe: Kale Gratin

Ingredients:

4 oz. Prosciutto, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs, or whichever kind you prefer
4 tbsp olive oil
2 bunches of Tuscan kale, stems and ribs removed and coarsely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
2  cloves of garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups of skim or lowfat milk
1 cup grated gruyere
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

 Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil into a medium skillet, and add the prosciutto.  Fry until some fat is released and then add the breadcrumbs.  Stir occasionally, until the prosciutto is crispy and the breadcrumbs are toasted a golden brown.  Set aside.

Boil a pot of water, add salt and the kale.  Cook for 4 minutes, then drain.  

 Pour the remaining olive oil to the pot and add the diced onion and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper, and stir frequently over medium heat until cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Add the kale to the mixture, and set aside, retaining the pot.

Use the pot to melt the butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk together until the mixture is thick and a light brown color.  Slowly mix in the milk, reducing heat to a simmer, and add the gruyere and nutmeg, continuing to stir until the cheese melts into a thick bechamel sauce.  Put the kale back into the pot and stir until it's coated in the bechamel.

Pour the bechamel-kale mixture into a 9-10" skillet or pie dish, and cover in the prosciutto-breadcrumb mixture and the parsley.  Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until it's bubbling slightly. 

Serves 8.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit.