A seriously delicious vegetarian pie packed full of greens
This pie is rich with wild greens — such as fat hen — and is best eaten with, you guessed it, even more greens. A healthy option from a kitchen gardener.
This is delicious served with even more greens. A crisp lettuce salad on the side makes a beautiful contrast to the rich darkness of the wild greens. Some sweet, spicy, tart tomato chutney is also vital.
FAT HEN PIE
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) mixed greens — such as fat hen, nettle, chickweed, mallow, shepherd’s purse, young plantago leaves, sheep sorrel, wild radish greens, chard, collards, kale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- a handful of finely chopped fresh herbs — a mix of hard herbs such as rosemary, thyme or oregano, and soft herbs such as fennel fronds, parsley or dill
- a splash of stock, white wine or water — about ¼ cup (60 ml), depending on how long you braise and how succulent your greens are
- melted butter, for brushing
- 12 filo pastry sheets, thawed if frozen
- ¼ cup (35 g) crumbled feta or labneh (optional)
METHOD
- Wash your chosen greens well and drain them. Wild greens can be fiddly to prepare, but it’s important to remove any fibrous stems and wash out all the grit. To make chopping them a little easier, gather all the small greens into a bundle and roll them tightly into a sausage inside a big leaf, such as a large chard or collard leaf. Then you can finely slice the leaves in bulk with ease, eliminating any tough stems you may have missed.
- Most recipes for wild greens involve boiling then draining them. This may have advantages if your harvest is a little gritty, and perhaps removes some oxalates, but I cringe at all that beautiful, nutrient-rich water going down the drain — so I prefer to cook them in their own juices with a splash of water, broth or wine to help them along.
- Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Turn up the heat for a moment, allow the pan to warm — and just before things start to brown, tip in your greens and jam the lid on to trap the hiss of steam, giving your pan a shake to move things about.
- Once the steam has settled, remove the lid. Stir in your hard herbs, season with salt and pepper and add the stock. Cook over medium – low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring now and then, and checking there is just enough liquid to stop the greens sticking — without letting them stew, or your pie will be soggy. Wild greens benefit from slow, tender care, so stir, moisten and tend your greens, tasting as you go, and enjoy the transformation. When you’re happy with them, cook them a little longer without adding any liquid, to dry them a little. Remove from the heat, add your soft herbs and allow to cool.
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Brush a 1 litre baking dish with melted butter. Working with one sheet of pastry at a time, and covering the rest with a damp tea towel so they don’t dry out and become brittle, lay a sheet of pastry on the bench and brush lightly with melted butter. Place another sheet on top, brush with butter again and repeat until you have six layers. Lay the whole thing over your dish and gently press it into the corners, taking care to fold and wrinkle the pastry, rather than tear it.
- Gently spoon in the cooled greens. Dot with the feta or labneh, if using, then butter another six pastry layers and place over your pie. Brush with extra butter and tuck down any edges that might catch and burn. Bake for 30 minutes, until the centre is hot and the top crisp and golden. Serve fresh from the oven. Any leftovers are wonderful eaten cold the next day.
This is an edited extract from Broccoli & Other Love Stories by Paulette Whitney, photography by Luke Burgess, illustrations by Klarissa Pfisterer. Murdoch Books RRP $45.00.