Spring Vegetable Pie with Feta Cheese and Filo Crust

Spring Vegetable Pie with Feta Cheese and Filo Crust brings together the best vegetables of spring–asparagus, artichokes and baby spinach in a Greek-inspired way!

Layers of baby spinach, artichoke hearts and asparagus with feta cheese in a ricotta custard are nestled in a crispy filo dough crust.  Serious heavenly goodness going on with this Spring Vegetable Pie with Feta Cheese and Filo Crust.

The trickiest part of this whole dish is the filo pastry crust–filo is paper-thin.  Um, less than paper-thin and it can be a nuisance to work with.  However, don’t let that stress you out as the filling for this Spring Vegetable Pie with Feta Cheese and Filo Crust will hide everything!

How to work with filo (phyllo) dough:

• Filo is almost always sold frozen so it’s important to thaw it properly.  Place in the refrigerator overnight.
• You’ll need butter… LOTS of butter.  Each sheet will require approximately 1 tablespoon, so plan accordingly.
• Then, simply brush each sheet with butter and layer and fold to create this flaky, layered crust.
• A box of filo dough has hundreds of paper-thin sheets so you have plenty to work with.  If it tears, no worries.  Just brush, layer and form the crust.

There’s no need to blind bake the crust.  Place an empty baking sheet in the oven so that it gets good and hot.  When you place the pie on it, the heat from the baking sheet will help make the crust crispy as it bakes.

In addition, the layer of Parmesan cheese that is sprinkled over the bottom forms somewhat of a barrier so the custard doesn’t soak right into the crust.

If you are able to cut the asparagus just right with every other one just a tad longer, you can get all the spears to meet neatly in the center.  If it doesn’t quite work out that way, place some artichoke hearts in the center to finish it off.  Enjoy!

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Yield: 8

Spring Vegetable Pie with Feta Cheese and Filo Crust

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Spring Vegetable Pie with Feta Cheese and Filo Crust brings together the best vegetables of spring–asparagus, artichokes and baby spinach in a Greek-inspired way!

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 bunch asparagus, tough ends trimmed (approximately 1 pound)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 10 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 15-18 filo dough/pastry sheets (or as needed)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
• 1 (12-ounce bag) frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and squeezed of excess moisture, coarsely chopped, divided
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the butter in a small stainless steel bowl and set in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating.
3. Bring a small pot of generously salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath.
4. Drop the asparagus into the boiling water to blanch it. Give it 10-15 seconds to turn vivid green.
5. Immediately remove from the boiling water and drop into the ice bath. Cool, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.
6. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan.
7. Add spinach and garlic and cook until wilted. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a sieve or colander to drain, then gently press out as much water as possible.
8. Prepare crust. Brush a 9-inch pie pan or other round baking dish (9 to 10-inch diameter) with melted butter.
9. Begin layering the filo pastry to form a crust. Carefully brush each sheet with melted butter, then place in the pie pan to form a layered crust. (Don't worry if the crust doesn't fit perfectly, just layer, fold and form as needed.)
10. Place an empty baking sheet in the oven to preheat.
11. Sprinkle bottom of crust with Parmesan cheese, then layer as follows: Spinach, 1/2 cup feta cheese, artichoke hearts except for two, remaining 1/2 cup feta cheese.
12. Whisk together ricotta, eggs and half-and-half. Season with salt and black pepper. Carefully pour over the filling that you've assembled thus far.
13. Place as much asparagus as will fit around the top of the pie in a circular or pinwheel manner (reserving any leftover for another use). Place remaining two artichoke hearts in the center if you can't get the asparagus to meet neatly in the center. (If they don't want to sit upright, place them in when the pie is nearly baked.)
14. Place on the hot baking sheet and bake 45-50 minutes or until lightly browned and set.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

8
Amount Per Serving Calories 354Total Fat 30gSaturated Fat 17gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 171mgSodium 483mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 14g

The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.