Savory Party Pies
December 1, 2008
In the gift basket business, holidays are our busiest times. Long work hours however, don’t mean we entertain less. We just entertain smarter. Convenience foods like frozen spinach and rounds of prepared, refrigerated pie dough make this casual party fare a snap to prepare. Slice the pies into slim wedges and serve with cocktails at holiday get-togethers.
RUSTIC SPINACH PIE
(Makes two 8-inch pies)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
One 16-ounce bag frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed
One 15-ounce tub ricotta
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella, plus more for sprinkling
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Two 9-inch refrigerated piecrusts
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the piecrust pouches from the box and bring to room temperature.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil to medium high and add the chopped onion. Cook until just transparent, about 3 minutes. Add the thawed spinach and cook until all moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, feta, chopped olives, mozzarella, salt and pepper. Add the cooled spinach mixture and mix well.
- To make a pie, unroll a piecrust onto a parchment-covered baking sheet. Spoon half the spinach mixture onto the crust covering all but about an inch of the outer edges. Gently fold the edges up over the filling, pinching the dough slightly as needed to form a freeform outer edge. Note: Neatness does not count here. The object is just to fold up and crimp the outer edges enough to keep the topping from sliding off while the pie bakes. Repeat process with the other piecrust.
- Bake the pies for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and the topping is bubbly. Remove the pies from the oven, sprinkle lightly with more mozzarella, and return to the oven for a minute more, until the cheese melts. Let pies cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
