Encouraged by the easy success of my Spanakopita Pie, I started to imagine a harvest version, full of layers of fall vegetables in various contrasting colors and with less butter than the original recipe, if possible. Feel free to use whatever strikes your fancy at the market as pretty much any variety of vegetables would taste good in this.
I built my harvest tourte around some lovely butternut squash, a bouquet of lacinata squash, some gorgeous leeks and a punnet of baby shiitake mushrooms, all of which I flavored with thyme and bay and layered with feta and red onion. The key is to salt each layer lightly for flavor but not to salt too much as the Feta and the salt in each layer could easily overpower the whole.
This was meant to be a quick Friday night dinner but turned into a late Saturday lunch instead, and I took my time with the process of assembly, which became a meditative experience of sorts.
This serves 6-8 rather than my usual 4.
8 oz phyllo dough, defrosted
4 cups peeled and seeded butternut squash, cubed
1 large bunch lacinata kale, washed and cut into bite-sized
2 large leeks, cut in spirals and washed well as dirt hides in between the layers
1 red onion, peeled, halved and cut into thin half moons
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp ground bay leaf
1 stick butter
8 oz Feta
4 eggs
1 Tbsp white wine or sherry
2 tsps olive oil
Salt
Preheat the oven to 400.
Lay the butternut squash pieces in one layer on a foil-lined baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and all of the ground bay leaf. Bake for 15 minutes.
While the squash is baking, melt one tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet. As soon as it melts, add the red onion, a tiny bit of salt and 1 teaspoon of the thyme. Cook over low heat, stirring from time to time, for 5 minutes until just starting to lose its crunch. Set aside.
While that is cooking, place the chopped lacinata kale in another skillet and cover with water. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring from time to time, and then pour into a colander to drain. Leave to cool in the strainer. The kale will not be completely cooked through but will be partially cooked and softened.
By now, the butternut squash will have been in the oven for about 15 minutes. Turn the pieces over and push them to one side of the baking tray to make room for the mushroom caps. Lay them in one layer next to the squash, salt lightly and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
While the mushrooms and squash are finishing baking, put the leek spirals in the pan in which you cooked the kale, along with the white wine and 1 teaspoon of the remaining thyme. Salt lightly and cook over low, for 5 minutes or so, until the leeks are soft and have absorbed most of the wine. Set aside.
Crumble the Feta into a bowl with the remaining thyme. Beat the 4 eggs well in a small bowl with a tiny bit of salt. Melt the rest of the butter.
Remove the squash and the mushrooms from the oven. Set aside while you prepare the phyllo dough. Lower the oven temperature to 350.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan well.
Open the package of phyllo dough and unwrap. Randomly add layers of the dough, allow all of the overflow to hang over the edges and pushing it down into the pan. Brush each layer with melted butter before you add the next. Use the butter fairly liberally, making sure you reserve around a tablespoon for the top. Once you have added all of your dough to the pan, start adding your vegetables.
I placed my pieces of butternut squash on the bottom, reasoning that they would catch any juices that came out of the other vegetables during the final cooking. I broke them into small enough pieces that the bottom of the pan had an even layer of squash.
Then I added a third of the red onion mixture, followed by a third of the Feta.
Then I added the layer of kale, making sure that I squeezed all possible liquid out of it first by pressing the leaves against the side of the strainer with the back of a spoon.
Repeat with a layer each of red onion and crumbled Feta.
I then placed all of the mushroom caps in one even layer over the top of that and topped the mushrooms with the final third of the red onions and the Feta cheese.
Last but not least, the leeks were added to the top. Press down lightly with a spatula or the palm of your hand to make sure that the surface is flat and that all of the vegetables are evenly distributed.
Pour the eggs over the top of the leeks. They will sink down through the layers.
Fold over all of the overhanging pastry to ensure that the vegetables in the pan are completely covered. Brush with the remaining butter.
Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, removing the ring after 30 to ensure an even golden crust.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Also tastes good at room temperature so can be made earlier in the day, and the vegetables prepped the day before if that works better with your schedule.
