Silverbeet, Tomato and Ricotta Pie

It’s been a long time since I posted; life got in the way. In the six or so months since the last post, we’ve cooked a lot—even made up some of our own recipes—but it has been purely for our own pleasure rather than for blogging. I don’t even know if this post represents the beginning of more blog posts, or a lone post, standing sadly in a barren landscape of potential.

The reason that I’ve got my mojo back – at least for this one thing – is that I posted a picture of the pie I made for dinner last night in a Facebook group, and someone asked for the recipe. Considering I was going to have to write it out anyway, I thought: what the hell. Let’s blog it! And so I am.

You may infer from the above that the recipe wasn’t intended to be blogged initially, which I hope goes some way to explaining why the quantities and timings are all approximated. I’ll try and do it again soon and be a bit more specific, although the joy of pie is that you don’t have to be particular about exact measurements, so if you’re anything like me, just glance through the recipe and then go at it according to your own whims and pie desires.

(makes one small pie, approximately 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS

2 sheets premade puff pastry—enough for a base and top for your chosen pie dish
1 yellow onion
1 T oil
2-4 cloves garlic
6-8 large silverbeet leaves—approximately 5 cups once roughly shredded
Note: you could substitute or combine the silverbeet with spinach
2 tomatoes
2 C cashew ricotta*
Salt
Pepper
1-2 T milk (I used soy)
* For the ricotta you can use your favourite vegan ricotta recipe, or:
1.75 C cashews
0.5-0.75 C water
2 T lemon juice
2 T nutritional yeast
1-2 cloves garlic
0.5 t onion powder
0.5 t salt (but probably err on the side of more—give it a taste test)
Blend all ingredients together for a short time, until ingredients are incorporated (I think it’s nicer when it’s not fully smooth). Add more water if needed. You may need to presoak your cashews depending on your type of blender and how smooth you want it.

UTENSILS

Knife
Cutting board
Blender
Large pot
Small pie tin (I used a 20 x 20cm square one)

METHOD

1. Heat the oil over medium high and turn the oven to 180 degrees fan-forced (or according to the puff pastry instructions).
2. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and leave to defrost.
3. Slice the onion into thin crescents and chop or mince the garlic.
4. Roughly shred the silverbeet leaves, removing the tough stems.
5. Add the onion to the pot. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until softened.
6. Add the garlic to the pot and stir for 30 seconds.
7. Add the silverbeet and stir until the silverbeet is wilted and tender. This will probably take 4-5 minutes, assuming that my memory serves me correctly, your pot is as hot as mine, and conditions are perfect. I’d just go ’til it looks cooked, since that’s what I did. If yours wilts heaps then you can just add some more!
8. While all those things are happening, chop the tomatoes into 1-2cm chunks.
9. Remove the silverbeet and onion from the heat. Mix in the ricotta and the tomatoes. Use salt and pepper to taste.
10. Grease the pie tin and line the base with one of the pastry sheets.
11. Fill the pie tin with the silverbeet mixture. (If there’s some left over, just eat it…delicious.)
12. Top the pie with the other pastry sheet. Press the sides together and/or fold over the edges to seal.
13. Cut 3-4 air vents in the top with a sharp knife.
14. Use the milk to glaze the top of the pie.
15. Place in the oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden (will depend on your oven).