The success of this layered vegetable pie depends upon making sure all ingredients are as dry as possible, so don’t stint on cooking times. You can make the four filling ingredients a day ahead and store them in the refrigerator in plastic bags with a clean, folded paper towel tucked in to absorb any excess liquid. Fresh spinach has a much better flavor than frozen. One 12-inch nonstick skillet can be used to prepare all ingredients; simply rinse with hot water and dry in between.
Serves 8 to 10.
2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes in tomato juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T tomato paste
3 10-oz bags washed, ready-to-eat spinach or 3 10-oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg
1 t salt, divided
1 t freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 lb mushrooms, stems included, cleaned
4 C thinly sliced yellow onions
1 t sugar
1 C crumbled feta cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1 C grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
10 sheets phyllo dough
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In large colander or sieve set over bowl, drain tomatoes. Save juice, covered, refrigerated, for later use. Cut tomatoes in half; place cut side down in colander; drain well. Squeeze seeds out of cut halves. Chop each tomato half into 8 pieces.
Place tomatoes in lightly oiled 12-inch nonstick skillet. Saute over high heat, stirring, until all juices have evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until garlic is soft, about 3 minutes. Add tomato paste; stir gently to combine. Cook until no juice remains, about 5 minutes. Turn tomato mixture onto large plate lined with wax paper to cool.
Cook spinach in batches with 1 cup water in skillet, covered, over high heat until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Remove to colander to drain and cool. Squeeze spinach by handfuls until very dry. (If using frozen, thawed, chopped spinach, skip the cooking step and squeeze until no more moisture can be extracted.)
Chop spinach finely with knife on cutting board. Return to colander to drain. Squeeze a second time. In medium bowl, mix spinach with nutmeg, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t black pepper. Place on paper towel-lined plate.
Trim woody ends from mushroom stems. In food processor, using shredding blade, shred mushrooms finely in batches. Or mince in batches on cutting board with knife. In lightly oiled skillet over high heat, saute mushrooms, stirring, until all moisture evaporates, up to 20 minutes. Season with remaining 1/2 t salt and 1/2 t black pepper. Turn onto paper towel-lined plate to cool.
In lightly oiled skillet, saute onions with sugar, stirring, until onions are caramelized but not burned, about 20 minutes. Turn out onto paper towel-lined plate to cool.
At this point, the four filling ingredients may be put into separate self-seal plastic bags, each with a folded paper towel and refrigerated.
To assemble pie: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, mix together feta, eggs and spinach.
Unfold phyllo sheets. Lay flat on length of waxed paper. Cover top completely with clean damp towel. Lightly oil 10-inch springform pan.
Remove one sheet of phyllo from top. Cover remaining sheets with damp towel. Working from edges toward center, spray or brush phyllo sheet lightly with olive oil. Ease sheet into bottom of springform pan. Pat dough against sides; let excess hang out over pan edge. Repeat with second sheet at an angle to first sheet. Repeat with third and fourth sheets at angles so all four quarters of pan are covered.
Layer in 4 additional oiled sheets. Oil both sides of another sheet of phyllo; fold in half, ease into bottom of pan.
Add fillings in layers as follows: spinach-feta-egg mixture; mushrooms, 1/2 C mozzarella; tomatoes, 1/2 C mozzarella; onions. Bring phyllo sheets up over top of pie. Spray lightly with oil.
Lightly oil another phyllo sheet. Cut in fourths, cutting along short side of rectangle. Fold each piece in half lengthwise. Roll up loosely jelly roll fashion. Pinch at bottom to make rose and spread side slightly to make petals. Repeat with each piece. Place 4 phyllo roses in center of pie, pinching phyllo top to attach.
Place springform pan on baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake until phyllo is golden brown and filling is completely cooked, about 1 hour.
Remove from oven. Let sit 10 minutes. With small thin spatula, loosen phyllo from pan sides. Unclasp springform; remove sides. Lift pie onto serving plate leaving springform bottom in place. Garnish edges with flat-leaf parsley. Carve with very sharp serrated knife.
Variation: Instead of phyllo, try puff pastry. Use 2 sheets (1 package) frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions. Roll one sheet out slightly on lightly floured surface. Cut into three equal short lengths. Fit each length into sides of springform pan, allowing top edges to hang out over sides. Seal edges with water. Save scraps.
Roll out second sheet slightly. Cut circle 1/2″ larger than pan bottom. Save scraps. Ease circle into pan bottom, sealing edges to sides on innter side with water.
Layer fillings as directed. Bring up overhanging puff pastry sides over top. Center with be open. Gather scraps, knead briefly to combine. Roll out into 9″ circle. Brush edges with water to seal. Place on top of pie. Cut decorative slits with sharp knife. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour.
Simple Phyllo Pie: Lay phyllo sheets as directed on 12″ pizza pan. Layer fillings to within 1″ of edge. Gather end of phyllo together on top of pie and twist. Bake as directed.
