Moroccan inspired veggie pie (vegan).

My friend Jim pleased me with the news that he was coming to town this week to visit friends and run some errands. Loving to entertain, and wanting to catch up on what's going on in his life, I invited him to dinner. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Jim is pretty much vegan and doesn’t eat refined foods or sugar. I found that when he was up at the cottage that I not only ate really well, but I was also inspired to invent and cook meals that I hadn’t had before. So here is a new recipe that I created in his honour. I was inspired by Susan Jackson’s vegan recipe for spinach and artichoke pie and the yummy looking picture that she posted. I wanted to move more toward middle eastern flavors for this recipe so here is my version. I made the filling the night before and kept it in the refrigerator until the next day to make assembly easier. It may look a little labour intensive up front but I guarantee you it is very worth it. For those who are "veggie resistant", or think that your spouse/partner won't eat something that is entirely made from vegetables, I challenge you to try this recipe. It really does have a hearty mouth feel and there is no one predominant vegetable that shines through. Not to mention that your palate might be pleasantly surprised by the unusual flavour notes of cinnamon and cumin :)

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbs olive oil for sautéing vegetables

3-4 small potatoes cubed into 1 inch cubes
½ butternut squash cubed into 1 inch cubes
1 pepper diced (red, yellow, or orange)
3 large bunches of spinach
2 onions diced
2-3 Tbs kalamata olives diced
1 large handful of cilantro washed and diced
1 jar of artichoke hearts drained rinsed and cubed
1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
¾ cup of tomato sauce
1-2 garlic cloves minced
2 Tbs almond butter
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ - ½ tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like your food)
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
13 sheets of phyllo dough thawed
Approximately 2 TBS of olive oil for brushing phyllo dough

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash the spinach several times, changing the water in between. Drain lightly and place into a large saucepan (I used my wok). Heat on high until wilted. Drain and squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Set aside in a large bowl.

Sauté the onions, potatoes, butternut squash, garlic, and peppers in the olive oil until the potatoes and squash are tender. Dump into the bowl with the spinach. Add in the chickpeas, tomato sauce, olives, almond butter, cilantro, and herbs and spices. Stir until combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Add in a bit more cayenne if you like it spicier, a bit more salt if it seems a touch bland. Set aside.

Line a shallow baking pan (circular or square) with some parchment paper. Lay two sheets of phyllo on the parchment and brush lightly with olive oil. Take two more sheets of phyllo and place then perpendicular to the other sheets. Brush with olive oil. Continue in this pattern with the remaining sheets two at a time until twelve of the sheets have been used.

Heap the spinach veggie mixture into the centre of the sheets. Take the single phyllo sheet that is left and fold in two. Place in the centre of the heaped mixture and brush with olive oil. This will ensure that your “package” will be sealed at the top. Now fold up each of the corners and sides of the other phyllo sheets essentially forming a circular package around the filling. Believe it or not, the less perfect that you do this the more attractive the package in the end. Brush all exposed surfaces lightly with olive oil.

Place on the center oven rack and bake in a preheated oven at 375 for approximately 45 minutes until lightly browned all over. Serve in slices with fluffy cous cous and a wedge of lemon.