My hubby reminded me we had kale outside that was harvest ready. I usually just steam the kale to use as a side dish or chop some up and place it into stir-fries or curries. However, when I went outside, I realized that a leaf or two into a stir-fry would not suffice. I knew I had to do something different after I saw just HOW MUCH kale there was to harvest. I had giant leaves to tend to.
After harvesting a giant armful of kale leaves, I took them in to wash. I rinsed off the leaves and removed all of the large stems, leaving just the leaf contents. In batches, I steamed the mass amounts of kale in a large pot, into almost nothing. I then RUNG out the steamed kale, removing them of as much excessive moisture as I could. I then chopped it into small pieces and got out the ingredients I needed, as I was going to make a kale and feta phyllo pie!
Usually, I use spinach as the green in this pie but I was very intrigued as to how well it would turn out with kale. I assumed that it would be bitter but I was so very pleasantly surprised that it was not. It was a perfect compliment with the feta and mint and I will be making it again. Especially since the second large batch of kale will be ready soon :)
PS: I used my MAD drawing skillz and made a how-to make a phyllo pie diagram. You'll find it below in the recipe section. Mad, MAD skillz, peeps. As my son says, don't quit your day job :)
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Kale and Feta Phyllo Pie
makes one 9 or 10 inch pie
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 sour cream
2 cups chopped, steamed kale (fully rung free of excess water)
4 spring green onions, finely chopped
2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
5-6 sheets phyllo pastry
1/4 cup butter, melted
In a bowl, mix 3 eggs. Add sour cream and mix well. Add the chopped kale, green onions, feta and dill. Mix until well incorporated.
Spray a 9 or 10 inch springform pan with oil.
Take a phyllo sheet, fold it in half and butter the top side. Place the sheet into the pan, having the end of the phyllo sheet coming out over the top of the springform pan.
Continue with the folded, buttered phyllo sheets, placing it, butter side up, into the springform, creating a circular pattern of overhanging sheets. Use up 5-6 sheets, leaving one sheet aside.
Spread out the filling into the phyllo-overlapped springform pan. Now, overlap the overhanging phyllo sheets onto the filling, one at a time, until all closed up.
Take the last phyllo sheet and cut it into squares. Butter and place on top of the pie, to cover any spots that are may not have been covered by the overlapping phyllo sheets.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 375F.
Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes. The top phyllo sheets should be golden brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on a rack. Release the springform pan and move pie onto serving plate.
Wrote by Maki
