Call of the wild: Wild Greens Pie

I got this recipe from the weekly Athens Plus News which comes out every Friday with the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. I knew I had to whip up this pie as soon as I read the recipe. Beer in the crust and wild greens  inside. Since I've been fasting for Greek Orthodox lent (no bleeding animal products) this recipe was perfect to make. I put a block of grated pepper-jack almond cheese in this version but it would be just as tasty without. It would be good with feta / goat cheese / parmesean as well. I am definitely making this pie again and again!

Wild Greens Pie adapted from Athens Plus
Recipe originally in grams which I converted to cups

Ingredients (for 10 pieces)
For the pastry:
4 cups self-rising flour (I used a combination of white and whole wheat flour)
1 cup beer
8 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

For the filling:
6 cups cleaned greens such as spinach, white beet, nettle, shallots, parsley, dill or whatever else desired
1 tbsp white rice
4 tbsp olive oil plus a little to grease the pan

Directions:
Wash the greens well and drain as well as possible.
Pastry: Knead all ingredients until a smooth dough is formed. Roll into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Filling: Chop the greens finely, place in a large bowl, add the salt and knead well to reduce volume. Set aside and strain off excess liquid and then mix in rice and olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a pie dish (approximately 11 inch diameter). Divide dough into two pieces so that one piece is a third of the size of the other (the smaller will be used for pie topping). Take the large piece of dough and press it down with your hands on a floured surface until it is flat, then place in pie dish so it covers all sides. Spread the greens over the pastry. Roll out smaller piece of dough and place on top. Pierce the top 3 or 4 places and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the top is golden.

My little brother, Alex, then ate half the pie. He looks sneaky, eh?  No leftovers! Wah wah wah.

I got this recipe from the weekly Athens Plus News which comes out every Friday with the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. I knew I had to whip up this pie as soon as I read the recipe. Beer in the crust and wild greens  inside. Since I've been fasting for Greek Orthodox lent (no bleeding animal products) this recipe was perfect to make. I put a block of grated pepper-jack almond cheese in this version but it would be just as tasty without. It would be good with feta / goat cheese / parmesean as well. I am definitely making this pie again and again!

Wild Greens Pie adapted from Athens Plus
Recipe originally in grams which I converted to cups

Ingredients (for 10 pieces)
For the pastry:
4 cups self-rising flour (I used a combination of white and whole wheat flour)
1 cup beer
8 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

For the filling:
6 cups cleaned greens such as spinach, white beet, nettle, shallots, parsley, dill or whatever else desired
1 tbsp white rice
4 tbsp olive oil plus a little to grease the pan

Directions:
Wash the greens well and drain as well as possible.
Pastry: Knead all ingredients until a smooth dough is formed. Roll into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Filling: Chop the greens finely, place in a large bowl, add the salt and knead well to reduce volume. Set aside and strain off excess liquid and then mix in rice and olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a pie dish (approximately 11 inch diameter). Divide dough into two pieces so that one piece is a third of the size of the other (the smaller will be used for pie topping). Take the large piece of dough and press it down with your hands on a floured surface until it is flat, then place in pie dish so it covers all sides. Spread the greens over the pastry. Roll out smaller piece of dough and place on top. Pierce the top 3 or 4 places and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the top is golden.

My little brother, Alex, then ate half the pie. He looks sneaky, eh?  No leftovers! Wah wah wah.