Recipe - Greek Spinach Pie And An Orange Splash Sauce

2 teaspoon Virgin olive oil
Three fourths cup Fennel, chopped
1 cup Sweet onions, chopped
4 ounce Baby spinach leaves
1 pn Dried dill
1 pn Freshly ground black pepper
1 pn Red pepper flakes
2 md Eggs, well beaten
One fourth teaspoon Ground nutmeg
1 pn Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoon Feta cheese, crumbled
8 2/3 ounce Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry
Sheet, thawed as directed
Diet Butter Spray

OPTIONAL ORANGE SPLASH
One half cup Water
Long peel of orange zest,
(1" by 4")
1 Sprig fresh rosemary
One half teaspoon Vegetarian bouillon, such as
Better than Bouillion (tm)
1 tablespoon Shredded carrots
One half Orange, juice only
1 teaspoon Cornstarch, in solution

Anise is a marvelous addition to this classic. A sweet onion works well; we
used a Mali. Subtle flavors (just pinches), yet the end result was full
bodied, satisfying. Hold the salt: our salt was in the Feta (350 mg sodium
per One fourth cup). We did not rinse the cheese. Roughly dice (1/4inch) the bulb
of the fennel, removing only the toughest core, and adding some of the
stalk to make the measure. Roughly chop the onion. Open the pastry sheet
and cut it to 8x8 inches. * Cut 5 Xs in the 8x8 sheet for ventilation.
Cover this piece with the damp dish towel. * Cut the remaining pieces of
dough into smaller bits and scatter on the bottom of an 8inch square
nonstick baking pan. Place in the oven and heat the oven to 350F. Bake for
about 7 additional minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven to
cool a bit. Keep the oven turned on. While the pastry is cooking, heat a
large skillet or flat bottom wok over medium high; add a little of the
oil and coat; saute the fennel for about 2 minutes. Add a little more oil,
as needed, and the onion; continue to cook until almost soft. Add the baby
spinach, the dill and the red and black peppers; cook almost 2 minutes,
until the spinach is wilted. Remove from the heat. Let cool a bit. In a
small bowl, but one large enough to hold the egg and the vegetables, beat
the eggs (or egg substitute); add pinch of nutmeg and black pepper.
Gradually (but quickly) fold in the vegetables, stirring as you do so that
you do not actually cook the eggs. Add half the feta. Pour the mixture into
the 8inch square pan on top of the pastry bits. Sprinkle with the
remaining feta. Cover with the raw pastry. Spray with a little bit of
"Butter Oil" (such as "I can't believe it's not butter). Bake, 350F for 40
minutes or until the egg, when seen through the slits, is no longer
bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit about 2 minutes. Cut into 4 pieces.
Serve with optional orange sauce.

Optional Orange Splash (Thin Sauce): Bring water and orange peel to a boil
and keep the boil going. Add the rosemary, the finely grated carrot, the
bouillon. Remove from the heat and add the juice and cornstarch solution.
Return to the heat and stir constantly until thickened. Strain into a bowl
or gravy boat. Makes 1 cup. See Eating Well Mag, Mar/Apr 97 (p58) for a
similar recipe made with phyllo/filo for a lower fat version of this pie.
Ours was about 400 cals per 4"square, that 22.6 g fat (50% cff). Salad
won't help much but serve a hearty one anyway, to help resist the
temptation to eat that 2nd portion. phannema@wizard.ucr.edu / McRecipe
11 Mar 97

Recipe by: Hanneman (1997) Eatwell.mcf

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #509 by PATh phannema@wizard.ucr.edu on Mar
10, 1997.