Chard, herb and feta pide-pie

Recently, when I've gotten something in my head I want to eat, I want to eat that thing and only that thing. Yesterday, it was pie - something like the multitude of greens+cheese pies we ate in Greece. We had a big bunch of chard in the fridge, and with some feta and a selection of herbs from the yard, this seemed like it (I used this recipe and this one as guides for the filling). But then, pastry - I never really make pastry, I definitely don't have a go-to recipe. I also have a distinct aversion to going to the shops for a single ingredient - I'd always rather improvise with the contents of the fridge. And I don't currently own a pie dish, so I had to find something that could be free-shaped and plonked on a baking sheet. It turns out that thing can be called a galette, and I liked the idea of a dough with yoghurt in it (I'd like it even more if it had olive oil instead of butter, will have to investigate), so I thought I'd try this recipe. When S got home, he thought the idea came from the tasty pide I have sometimes been buying from a Middle Eastern bakery on the way home, and it's true - they were pretty much pide-shaped and filled, and pide are also a freeform shape like what I was looking for - next time, I'll have to look up pide dough recipes.

(Make sure to start the dough an hour before you want to shape and bake the pies - it needs to rest in the fridge. I made two medium sized pies that fitted comfortably on my baking trays, but the recipe could easily make one big pie or four smaller pies)

For the dough:
160 g (1 1/4 cups) plain flour (definitely needs more - at least 200g)
1/4 tsp salt (don't use if using salted butter)
115 g (8 tbsp) cold unsalted butter (don't add extra salt if using salted)
60 g (1/4 cup) yoghurt
2 tsp lemon juice
60 ml (1/4 cup) ice water


For the filling:
big bunch of chard (c. 250 g - or beet greens)
olive oil
3 large spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley, chopped
1 tbsp chopped oregano, chopped
2 tsp chopped mint, chopped
2 tsp chopped sage, chopped
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1/3 of a 200g pack of feta
1 egg, and the white of another left from making the pastry glaze, beaten
salt+pepper

For the pastry glaze:
1 egg yolk (put the rest in the filling), beaten with
1 tsp water

First, prepare the dough: put the flour (and salt, if using) into a large bowl, then chop the butter into small dice and add to the bowl. Rub the butter into the flour as if making crumble. Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice and water in a small bowl, then add to the flour-butter crumbs and mix until the dough comes together into a ball. Add a little more flour if it doesn't stick together in a ball. Wrap the ball in clingfilm and put in the fridge for at least an hour (up to two days).

While resting the dough, prepare the filling. Wash chard and separate stems from leafy parts. Chop the stems, and tear the leafy parts into pieces. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add the spring onions and chard stems. Fry reasonably high for a few minutes. Add chard leaves and herbs and saute for a few minutes, until the chard collapses. Let cool a bit in the pan, then transfer to a colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as you can and discard the liquid. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, crumble over the feta, then add the parmesan and egg, mix up, and season with salt and pepper. This should be about the right time to start the oven - heat to 200C / 400F.

To assemble, split the dough in half. Roll out one half into an approximate circle on a well-floured work surface. It should be about the size of a large plate, about 3 mm thick. Fold lightly in half, then in quarters, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Unfold. Spread half the filling in the middle, out to about 1 1/2 inches from the edge. Then fold in the edges to overlap the outer part of the filling, pleating and crumpling to make it fit. Brush the exposed pastry with egg glaze, then put the pie in the oven. Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the pie is golden. Take out and eat pretty much immediately with a simple salad, or let cool and take for lunches (it's fairly robust and travels well).


Notes:
Shaping the dough was super straightforward, and nothing annoying happened whatsoever. And the pies came out great - prettily crumpled and golden, crisp tasty pastry (no soggy bottom), stored well in the fridge for a few days and nice cold (although I have actually been reheating in the microwave at work for c. 15 sec). Could maybe have done with a little more filling, but it was sufficient - never underestimate how much greens collapse when cooked! So many other filling ideas now! And, I would like to try with an olive oil pastry.

* I used the gram measurements from the original recipe, but it came out a little wet and I had to add a bit more flour - my guess is it should be approx. 200 g flour instead of 160 g

Chard, caraway and pomegranate molasses

One way or another, we came by a lot of chard recently - from Ang+Brian's Yard Birds; from Alvin's CSA extras and generosity, from my balcony pot...  My go-to, quick and tasty approach to any dark leafy greens (chard, spinach, beet greens etc) is to saute them with some garlic, but having gone through a few bunches like that I was feeling some variations.  Caraway was calling (probably partly because of this recipe), and I was thinking of making a chard, caraway and rice filo package (similar to this one), but then thought 'hang on, that would mean switching on the oven, bad move, how about I just do the rice and chard and not bother with the filo or oven?'.  So that's what I did.  The pomegranate molasses was a last-minute thought - I feel like chard needs a hint of something sweet-tart to bring its flavour out (could also try tamarind, or lemon/lime juice, or balsamic vinegar).

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 bunch chard, stalks separated from leaves and both chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp caraway seeds
salt+pepper
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp toasted flaked almonds (optional)

Prep the vegetables then heat the oil in a large frying pan with a lid.  Add the onion and chard stalks and cook at medium with the lid on for a few minutes until they start to soften, then add the garlic and caraway seeds and cook for a few more minutes, until it is all quite well softened.  Remove the lid and cook for a minute or two more to brown a little.  Then add the roughly chopped chard leaves and salt and pepper, cover again and cook for a few more minutes, removing the lid after the chard begins to wilt and continuing to cook until the chard is all wilted but still a good strong green colour.  Finally, add the pomegranate molasses (and almonds) and taste for seasoning.



I made some basmati rice (1 cup) as I cooked the chard.  I bunged some cumin and anise seeds into the rice as it cooked, because it sprang to mind how much I liked the cumin in the rice from the Indian take-out place we always go to in Concord NH when we are up there at Pete's.  I also added a little (~2 tsp) coconut oil to the rice at the end of cooking.  Both seeds and oil worked well, and the chard / caraway / pomegranate molasses / rice mixture was definitely a winner, flavour-wise.  I did wonder if it could do with something a bit crunchy, so I'm thinking the filo package version could be bang on (almond addition also working on this).

Greens, chickpeas and tamarind

I'd been looking at this recipe for a while - caraway and tamarind are two of the ingredients I am most into at the moment.  But hadn't had that much chard recently.  Used a mixture of chard, beet greens, kale and a little large-leaf spinach, since that was what I had in the fridge / in the plant pot on the balcony, crying out to be used before we leave on Thursday.  Apart from that I mostly stuck to the ingredients, although played pretty loose with the method and quantities.

4 tbsp seedless tamarind
400g swiss chard (stems and leaves), cut into 1cm slices
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp whole caraway seeds
1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 tsp tomato paste (didn't have, so used extra tinned tomatoes and reduced more)
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
350ml water
1½ tbsp caster sugar
400g cooked chickpeas
1½ tsp whole coriander seeds, toasted and ground to a powder
salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1 big handful coriander leaves

Put the onion, caraway and olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden.  Add the tomato paste (if using) and cook, stirring, for about a minute.  Add the tomatoes, water, sugar, tamarind and ground coriander, and season.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, adding chickpeas after 10 minutes and greens after 20min.  Adjust consistency and seasoning.  Finally, add the lemon juice, and serve with rice and coriander.


Is good.  The tamarind gives nice depth of flavour, while the caraway is surprisingly subtle... yet exciting!  Chickpeas, tomatoes and greens are otherwise quite a tried-and-tested combination.

Chard frittata

Similar story to the courgette flowers - S bought some chard from the farmers' market / I remembered a recipe I'd seen on ppk for chard frittata.  We came back from a morning swim at Walden Pond, feeling a bit peckish...

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bunch of red chard, rough stems removed, chopped well (about 4 cups)
2 teaspoons dried oregano / used a mixture of fresh basil and dried thyme
1 pound firm or extra firm tofu
1 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce (use tamari if gluten free)
1 teaspoon wet mustard (dijon or yellow, whatever you got)
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
several dashes fresh black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan over low-medium heat. Add the oil and the garlic and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light amber in colour.
Add the chard, oregano and and turn the heat up to medium high. Saute for about 5 minutes, until chard is completely wilted.
While the chard is cooking, squeeze the tofu over the sink to remove a little of the water. Crumble and squeeze it in a large mixing bowl, until it has the consistency of ricotta cheese. Add the remaining ingredients to the tofu and mix well. When your chard is ready, mix it into the tofu. Taste for salt.
Lightly grease an 8 inch pie plate and firmly press in your frittata mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, until firm and lightly browned on top. Let cool for about 3 minutes, then invert onto a plate and serve.


It came out very tasty - the chard taste really shone through - but rather falling apart - more like a tofu scramble than a firm frittata.  It did turn out, and looked quite nice.  Perhaps because I used a Pyrex dish to cook it?  Or because it was quite a big bunch of chard?  Anyway, if I did it again I might not bother with the oven, and just add the tofu mix to the pan and heat that way.  It was my first use of nutritional yeast, which was another reason I fancied trying it - I bought some a while ago but it was weirding me out a little as I don't really know where it comes from.  Think it tasted quite good - bit cheesy, quite strong.

Big Filo Packages of Chard and Potato

We bought a big bunch of chard and a package of filo from the Armenian grocers in Watertown - this suggested itself.

This makes 2 fat rolls.

~4 medium potatoes, peeled
1 large bunch (~1 lb) chard, stems chopped and leaves torn into pieces (separately)
1-2 onions, chopped
7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
~10 mushrooms, sliced
1-2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted
12 sheets thicker (#7) filo
a few olives, finely chopped (optional)
splash of white wine

olive oil
fake milk
salt and pepper

Peel and boil potatoes 15-20 min.  Mash (doesn't matter if they are not perfectly smooth) with fake milk, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Put into large bowl and set aside.

Fry the onions and garlic for ~5 min.  Add the chard stems and mushrooms and fry another ~5min.  Add salt and pepper and a splash of white wine to taste, and fry til combined and evaporated.  Add the parsley and chard leaves and stir and fry until the chard is wilted.

Add the chard mix and the chopped olives (and any juice or oil with the olives) to the potato and mix.  Set aside (it is good to let filling cool before putting it into the filo).

On a dry clean surface, lay out one sheet of filo.  Spread thinly with olive oil.  Put the next sheet of filo on top and spread with olive oil again, and this time add a sprinkling of sesame seeds.  Continue layering until there are 6 sheets (don't put anything on top of the last sheet).  Spread half the chard/potato mix evenly along one short end of the filo layers.  Then roll it up into a big fat roll, gathering and tucking the short ends as you go.  Cut diagonal lines through the filo on top, then brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Cutting lines in the top

Repeat with the other 6 filo sheets and remaining filling / seeds.

Heat oven to 375F.  Put rolls on baking trays into oven for 30-40min until golden brown (this may be quicker- keep an eye on them).  Remove and allow to cool a little before eating (filling will be very hot).

Finished result

The filling was really good.  Best to roll from the short end, as if you go along the long side you get loads of filo and little filling in the end pieces.  Best to bake on a ceramic or pyrex oven tray, not metal (bottom burned of metal one a little).  Sesame seeds on top all fell off when cutting - perhaps only put them inside?  Could try different fillings (think I will use the rest of the packet to do a little apple one), and also could try different shapes - individual sized packages, or a big layered pie.  The pastry split and flaked as it cooled, and then softened in the cooled version, but it was still good as a cold thing for lunch.