Swiss Chard Pie
This vegetarian pie is great to fix ahead — it can go straight from the freezer to the oven on Thanksgiving Day. To bake without freezing, reduce the baking time to 40 to 45 minutes. Serves 8.
Ingredients for the Dough:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Ingredients for the filling:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, cut into small dice
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, stems cut into small dice and leaves torn
- 3/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Grated zest of 1 large lemon, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 large egg yolk
Directions:
- In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, extra-virgin olive oil, cold water, and coarse salt. Stir with a fork to combine, then turn out onto a work surface and knead 1 minute. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature, 30 minutes.
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add chard stems and red-pepper flakes; cook until stems begin to soften, about 2 minutes.
- Pack chard leaves into pot; season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until chard leaves wilt, about 4 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until chard is soft, about 4 minutes. Drain, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Place chard mixture in a large bowl and toss with Parmesan, flour, lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Roll two-thirds the dough to a 12 1/2-inch round; fit into an 8-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Fill bottom crust with chard mixture. Roll remaining dough to a 9 1/2-inch round; place over filling. Pinch edges of dough together and tuck in to seal; cut several vents into center of pie. Combine yolk with 1 teaspoon water and brush over dough, avoiding edge of pan. Freeze pie (see below).
- To serve, preheat oven to 400, with rack in lowest position. Bake frozen pie until crust is deep golden brown, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Warm Quinoa, Spinach and Shiitake Salad
Green Bean and Fennel Salad with Pecans
Wild Rice-Stuffed Acorn Squash
Roasted Carrots, Parsnips and Shallots
Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Topping
With a vegetarian menu like this, your family will be healthy, environmental, and super-satisfied! So don’t miss the Market this Saturday to stock up on all the goodies you need to make these delicious dishes; and stay tuned next week for more fantastic recipes for a Thanksgiving feast that takes you outside the box!
