Spinach and Feta Pie

When I sat down to figure out what I wanted to put in this particular recipe, I was thinking just a traditional Greek feta cheese pie. Something simple for dinner that could work well for breakfast or lunch, nothing that involved. And then I started thinking of things I had that would be good in it. And more things. Eventually, I ended up making a 9x13-inch pan of what was really quite a fabulous tasting main dish, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't resemble anything anyone from Greece would recognize. You'll have that.

First, I discovered I didn't have nearly as much feta cheese as I thought, so I drained some cottage cheese for a couple of hours to make up for it. Then I remembered the half-pound or so of bacon I had, and the bag of fresh spinach, and those mini bella mushrooms, and the fresh herbs from my garden... and this is why I am virtually incapable of cooking for two people. I tend to complicate things.

First step was to dice the bacon, chop the onion, and brown them together for a bit. I happened to have a giant spring onion from the farmer's market left (the ones that when they get older get bigger and also turn red), but really whatever onion you happen to have on-hand should work. I would've used a yellow onion if I didn't have this one.

Once the bacon and onions were fairly well cooked, I sliced the mini bellas and added them to cook. Again, you can use other mushrooms if you'd rather, I just happened to have an 8-ounce package of them (they've become my go-to fresh mushroom over the white button type because they have better flavour).

When the mushrooms were about 3/4 done, I started adding the spinach. I didn't notice I'd bought regular spinach instead of baby, so you'll notice a few stems in there that really should have been trimmed before I stuck it in the pan. I eventually caught most of them, but the ones I missed wilted right along with the leaves and weren't a big deal. Even though I was using my biggest skillet, I had to add the spinach in three batches because before it wilts it's HUGE.

It never fails to amaze me how small spinach gets when it's cooked. That's an entire 10 ounce package of fresh spinach, and it looks like about half as much as 8 ounces of mushrooms. But it's all in there, trust me. Had I known this was what I was gonna do with it, I probably would have bought a 14 ounce package. After the spinach was completely wilted, I added in the minced fresh herbs.

Also, I should note that I neither added any oil nor drained any bacon grease. The grease produced by the bacon as it cooked was perfect for cooking the mushrooms and spinach, and added excellent flavour to the mixture.

These next steps were happening fairly simultaneously with the sauteeing, but it won't hurt if you want to sautee the vegetables and set them aside while you do the rest.

My mother tells me most people use a spoon instead of their fingers to determine if the butter is soft enough. Whatever. I wash my hands 50 times while I'm cooking, because I like to actually feel things.

Beating the butter and eggs together leaves a mixture that panicked me a little at first because it looks curdled. I suppose it kind of is, but that's because they don't really blend. You really do need to mix them together first, though, or you'll end up splashing batter all over your kitchen (yes, I know this from prior experience... it took me an hour to clean up the first time I thought it was a good idea).

It looks much better after you beat in the Greek yogurt, although as you can see from the state of my mixer and bowl it still splashes quite a bit. I tried various speed settings, and it really didn't splash any more or less regardless of the speed of my mixer. So I just did it at medium and tried to block the overspray with my other hand.

I got too involved with making things and forgot to take a separate picture of the next step. This one shows the batter after I beat in the cheeses and the dry ingredients, but those are actually two separate steps. It takes a LONG time to beat the feta so it breaks up, and I was so darn excited when it finally did (there were still some lumps, but no longer huge chunks), I just quick dumped in the dry ingredients and moved on.

When you add the dry ingredients, it gets difficult to beat fairly quickly. But once you get the dry mixed in so it won't fling around as dust, you can increase the speed to high and it gets easier. Plus, you don't have to beat it for very long at this point, so it's not too bad.

Finally, you can mix in the spinach mixture. Do NOT use the mixer, or all your spinach will end up wound around the beaters! It doesn't  look like there's enough, but the flavour goes all the way through. As I said above, I probably would have used a little more spinach had I planned ahead, but it didn't feel like there wasn't enough of it.

From there, spread it in a nonstick spray-coated 9x13-inch glass baking pan and toss it in the oven. It took mine about 40 minutes at 350F, but time will vary depending on your oven.

What you're going for is a firm "pie" that pulls away from the sides of the pan slightly and is golden brown on top. The edges will be almost cake-like, which makes it easy to serve. I cut mine into 12 pieces, and have since discovered that this does freeze well. I freeze two pieces together in a Ziploc container (or a deli-style lunchmeat container, I'm not fancy), then defrost in the refrigerator. To reheat, just microwave for 2-3 minutes.

*If you're using the lunchmeat containers, they are not made to be microwaved. Take your food out and heat it on a plate to prevent chemicals leaching into your food.

Spinach and Feta Pie

Serves 12

1/2 pound bacon

1/2 cup onion (diced)

8 ounces portobello mushrooms (mini bellas, sliced)

10 ounces spinach (fresh)

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano (fresh, minced)

3/4 teaspoon thyme (fresh, minced)

1 tablespoon basil (fresh, minced)

1/2 teaspoon mint (fresh, minced)

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

4 large eggs

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick, softened)

14 ounces Greek yogurt

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/4 tablespoons baking powder

16 ounces cottage cheese (drained)

10 ounces feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350F; spray a 9x13-inch glass dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Dice bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes; add onion and mushrooms and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crisp and vegetables are cooked.

Add spinach to skillet in batches as it wilts, stirring to combine well; remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat together the eggs and butter for 2 minutes; add yogurt and beat for another 2 minutes.

Add cottage and feta cheeses, and beat until smooth and creamy (there will still be some chunks of cheese), about 8 minutes.

Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to bowl, beating well between each addition.

Stir spinach and bacon mixture into bowl, combining well.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth top; bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, until top is golden brown and sides pull away from the pan.

Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Serving Size: 201 g

Calories: 370 g

Calories from Fat: 215

Total Fat: 23.9 g

Saturated Fat: 12.5 g

Trans Fat: 0.0 g

Cholesterol: 129 mg

Sodium: 964 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 15.4 g

Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g

Sugars: 2.9 g

Protein: 23.4 g

I've decided I need a house elf. This is what I turned around to see after I finally got the pie in the oven.