Creations, No Guilt Phyllo Pie
Recipes that have been catching my eye lately have been savory pies, galettes, tortes, tarts & flatbreads…all are variations of each other, a crust with fillings or toppings. I had some odd vegetables, a pie crust and some phyllo and decided to create a vegetable pie. I really wanted to use the pie crust but the phyllo kept calling me and ultimately won out in the end.
I got the veggies cut up and prepared for roasting. I used zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, grape tomatoes and eggplant. Any vegetable will work…asparagus, onions, artichoke hearts, whatever suits your fancy or floats your boat…
Shhh, the secret ingredient is, BACON! Okay, I know I promised no guilt, but stay with me here, I used 4 pieces for this pie, which equals less than 1 piece per serving…leave it out if you must, but it does add a kick of flavor and a little goes a long way.
Place the veggies on a foil lined pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil spray and very lightly drizzle them with Olive oil and season with
S & P.
Distribute the chopped bacon slices evenly over the vegetables. The bacon will act like an automatic baster, infusing the veggies underneath with flavor as they roast.
While vegetables are roasting prepare the crust. DO NOT FEAR THE PHYLLO! It is actually super easy and forgiving to work with.
Keep the phyllo covered with a damp towel at all times. When you are working, lift the towel, remove a phyllo
sheet, replace the towel. Spray the sheet with Olive Oil spray, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and repeat this process until you have built up a crust of 6-7 layers. Since I used a circular tart pan [with removable bottom for ease in serving] I staggered the sheets, placing each layer a little off center of the previous to stagger the layers around the edges, forming the circle. Traditional phyllo recipes call for brushing each layer with melted butter, which is of course delicious, but I opted for the non-fat cooking oil spray version to keep this vegetable pie much healthier.
Keep layering the dough sheets until you have the desired thickness you want, about 6-8 is preferable.
After 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven, the vegetables are roasted and fragrant and the bacon is crispy and the kitchen will smell amazing!
Pile the vegetables into the crust
Spread them around evenly and top with cheese. I was working quickly here and opted just to cut the cheese into pieces instead of grating it. Anyway you want to do it is obviously fine, or eliminate it altogether if you want and you will be nominated for sainthood.
Gently fold/scruntch the edges of the phyllo dough into a wide rim around your gorgeous creation. Put the pan on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until dough is golden and everything is all melty.
Voila! Your work is done! You have created a masterpiece!
Look at all that yummy deliciousness! Full of a multicolor veggie combo, this pie is good for you and you can control the amount of extra fat you want to add by adjusting the quantity of bacon and cheese.
If you have used a pan with a removable bottom, this tart will be a breeze to serve…
Cut a slice or two
We had a bowl of onion soup with our veggie tart. I didn’t want to finish the onion soup in the traditional way with a cheesy bread crouton since there was cheese in the tart. But since the phyllo crust is light as air, I decided to serve some french bread on the side for dipping in the soup.
My main inspiration for this dish was from Proud Italian Cook [prouditaliancook.blogspot.com] You should check out her blog, she cooks some wonderful looking vegetable dishes, and her photography is beautiful.
This recipe is on my Bucket List this month as GRILLED VEGETABLE TART with PHYLLO
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Here’s the recipe
NO GUILT PHYLLO PIE
Ingredients
- 1 zucchini
- 1 yellow squash
- 1 small eggplant
- 1/2 red pepper
- 10 grape tomatoes
- 4 slices bacon diced
- 6-8 sheets Phyllo dough
- 1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2-3 oz. Fontina cheese cut into strips
- Olive Oil Spray
- Olive Oil S & P
Instructions
- Cut the vegetables, except for the grape tomatoes, into 1″ chunks
- Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking oil spray. Put the vegetables on the pan and drizzle with a scant amount of Olive oil and top evenly with diced bacon.
- Roast at 400 for about 25 minutes or until veggies are softened and starting to brown, and bacon is crisp.
- Meanwhile, make the crust. Lay the phyllo dough out on a board or piece of wax paper and immediately cover with a damp towel. Have your pan, grated Parmesan and Olive Oil spray ready and begin building your crust.
- Start with a double layer, 2 sheets of phyllo. Cover reserved phyllo and then spray bottom layer sheets quickly with Olive Oil spray and sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Continue layering in this manner using just one sheet per layer, spraying and sprinkling with cheese, until you have built up to 6-7 layers.
- Top with roasted veggie mix, add Fontina pieces over all and gently roll/fold phyllo edges over filling to form the rim of the tart. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes until golden. Serves 4-6
Enjoy your vitamin filled creation!
I’m joining the Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphis Monday
Stone Gable for On the Menu Monday
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday
Rattlebridge Farms for Foodie Friday
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