Spinach-and-Grape-Leaf Pie
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt ⓘ
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces ⓘ
- 1 cup heavy cream ⓘ
- 4 large whole eggs, plus 1 large egg, lightly beaten ⓘ
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil ⓘ
- 1 medium onion, minced ⓘ
- Salt ⓘ
- 4 garlic cloves, minced ⓘ
- One 10-ounce jar of grape leaves, stems removed and leaves thinly sliced (about 3 cups) ⓘ
- 2 bunches scallions, thinly sliced
- Six 10-ounce packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, or 3 pounds fresh spinach, stemmed and blanched ⓘ
- 2 cups frozen peas, thawed ⓘ
- 8 ounces fresh ricotta (1 cup) ⓘ
- 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated (1/4 cup) ⓘ
- Juice of 1 lemon ⓘ
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ⓘ
- 1/2 cup finely chopped mint ⓘ
- Freshly ground pepper ⓘ
Instructions
- make the dough In a food processor, combine the 2 cups of flour and the salt and pulse a few times to blend.
- Add half of the butter and pulse until it is the size of large peas.
- Add the remaining butter and pulse until all of the butter is the size of baby peas.
- Make holes in the flour mixture and drizzle in the heavy cream.
- Pulse until the dough starts to come together.
- make the dough Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Gently knead it a few times and form the dough into a ball.
- Cut off one-third of the dough and gently form it into a disk.
- Gently flatten the larger piece of dough into a disk.
- Wrap both disks tightly in plastic and refrigerate until they are firm, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- make the filling In a medium saucepan, cover the 4 whole eggs with warm water and bring to a boil.
- Boil for 2 minutes, then drain the eggs and cover with cold water.
- Lightly crack the shells, and when the eggs are cool, carefully peel them.
- make the filling In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil.
- Add the onion and a large pinch of salt and cook over moderate heat until translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the grape leaves, cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the scallions and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach.
- Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is heated through and thoroughly incorporated, about 5 minutes.
- make the filling Scrape the greens from the skillet into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.
- Stir in the peas, ricotta, Parmigiano, beaten egg, lemon juice, nutmeg and mint.
- Season the filling with salt and pepper.
- make the filling Preheat the oven to 425.
- Heat a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the large piece of dough to a 16-inch round slightly less than 1/4 inch thick.
- Fold the dough in half and transfer it to a 10-inch springform pan.
- Unfold the dough and gently press it into the pan and up the side.
- Trim the overhang to 1/2 inch.
- Refrigerate the dough in the pan.
- Roll out the smaller piece of dough to a 10-inch round, slightly less than 1/4 inch thick.
- Slide the round onto a cookie sheet and chill for 5 minutes, until firm.
- Trim the round to 9 inches.
- make the filling Arrange the whole cooked eggs in the dough-lined pan and cover with the filling, smoothing the top.
- Place the 9-inch dough round on top and brush the edge with some of the egg-milk glaze.
- Fold the overhanging dough over the center round and pinch the edges together to seal.
- Brush the top and edge of the pie with the glaze.
- make the filling Transfer the pie to the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375 and bake for about 50 minutes, until the crust is richly browned and the filling is hot.
- Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool to warm.
- make the filling Remove the side of the pan.
- Cut the pie into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition & Diet Analysis (per serving)
1397
kcal
70% DV
Protein
Fat
Carbs
* % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet (FDA 2020).