Harvest Vegetable Pie

* Exported from MasterCook *

Harvest Vegetable Pie

Recipe By : Vegetarian Times
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Main Dishes Thanksgiving/Christmas
Vegan

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 28 oz. cans whole tomatoes in tomato juice
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 10 oz. bags washed ready to eat salad spinach OR
3 10 oz. pkgs. frozen chopped spinach -- thawed
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt -- divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper -- divided
2 pounds mushrooms, stems included, cleaned
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup feta cheese -- crumbled
4 eggs (or Egg Beaters or substitute) -- beaten
1 cup mozzarella cheese -- divided
10 sheets phyllo dough

In large colander or sieve set over bowl, drain tomatoes. Save juice, cov
ered & 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 hal
f 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 paper towels to cool.
Cook spinach in batches with 1 cup water in skillet, covered, over high he
at until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Remove to colander to drain and cool.
Squeeze spinach by handfuls until very dry. (If using frozen chopped thawed
spinach, skip the cooking step and squeeze until no more moisture can be extrac
ted.)
Chop spinach finely with knife on cutting board. Return to colander to dr
ain. Squeeze a second time. In medium bowl, mix spinach with nutmeg, 1/2 tsp.
salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Place on paper towel lined plate.
Trim woody ends from mushroom stems. In a food processor, using shredding
blade, shred mushrooms finely in batches. (Can mince with a knife in batches
on cutting board.) In lightly oiled skillet over high heat, saute mushrooms,
stirring, until all moisture evaporates, up to 20 minutes. Season with remaini
ng 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Turn onto paper towel lined plate to coo
l.
In lightly oiled skillet, saute onions with sugar, stirring, until onions
are caramelized but not burned, about 20 minutes. Turn out onto paper towel li
ned 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 F. In a medium bowl, mix to
gether feta, eggs, and spinach.
Unfold phyllo sheets. Lay flat on length of waxed paper. Cover top compl
etely with clean damp towel. Lightly oil a 9 to 10-inch round springform pan.

Remove one sheet of phyllo from top. Cover remaining sheets with a damp t
owel. Working with the edges toward center, spray or brush phyllo sheet lightl
y with olive oil or butter-flavored or olive oil cooking spray. Ease sheet ont
o 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 th
ird, fourth, and fifth sheets at angles so all four quarters of the pan are cov
ered.
Layer in 4 additional oiled sheets. Oil both sides of an additional sheet
of phyllo; fold in half and ease into bottom of pan (for support of bottom of
pie).
Add fillings in layers as follows: spinach-feta-egg mixture, mushrooms, 1
/2 cup mozzarella, tomatoes, 1/2 cup mozzarella, onions. Bring phyllo sheets u
p over top of pie and spray lightly with oil.
Lightly oil another phyllo sheet. Cut into fourths, cutting along shot si
de of rectangle. Fold each piece in half lengthwise. Roll up *loosely* jelly-
roll fashion. Pinch at bottom to make a rose and spread side slightly to make
petals. Repeat with each piece. Place 4 phyllo roses in center of pie, pinchi
ng phyllo top to attach.
Place springform pan on baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in center o
f oven until phyllo is golden brown and filling is completely cooked, about 1
hour. (If some areas, such as roses, begin to get too brown, cover those areas
with foil.)
Remove from oven. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. With a small thin spatula, l
oosen phyllo from pan dies. Unclasp springform pan and remove sides. Lift pie
(leaving bottom of springform pan with pie) onto a serving plate. Decorate si
des of plate, if desired, with parsley, flowers, leaves, etc.



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NOTES : 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 m
ake the four filling ingredients a day ahead and store them in the refrigerator
in plastic bags with a clean dry paper towel tucked in to absorb excess moistu
re. Fresh spinach has a much better flavor than frozen. One 12-inch skillet m
ay be used to prepare each set of filling ingredients. Simply rinse with hot w
ater and dry in between.

VEGAN VARIATION: Omit eggs and feta in spinach layer and substitute 1/2 cup sh
redded mozzarella-type soy cheese and 10 oz. package of Japanese-style firm sil
ken tofu that has been drained and pressed to extract moisture. In the tomato
and mushrooms layers, substitute 1/2 cup soy mozzarella for dairy cheese.