Greens and Quinoa Pie

Last week as I was browsing through my folder of recipes torn from magazines, I found this one from the February issue of Vegetarian Times. It was in a special section of the magazine devoted to Passover recipes. I thought it looked delicious, and had some of my favorite ingredients.

When I made this recipe, I made a few modifications. First, rather than use chicory and romaine, I used kale and baby spinach. This is just personal preference, but it did make the dish have a much deeper, earthier flavor. I probably wouldn't do this in the future because the kale and spinach flavors overpowered the other flavors in the dish. I omitted the swiss cheese, and used only egg whites to make it lower in calories and fat. While I didn't love this recipe, I didn't dislike it, I think I was more surprised at the final product not being exactly what I thought it would be. I am definitely going to try it again though, or make a similar quinoa pie dish with different vegetable flavors.

Greens and Quinoa Pie

from February 2010 Vegetarian Times

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 large bunch chicory (1 to 1 1/4 lb), cut into bite-sized pieces (I used Kale)
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded (I used 4 c. baby spinach)
3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 medium onions thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup grated aged goat cheese (omitted)
3 eggs, lightly beaten (I used 4 whites)

Place quinoa in small saucepan, and toast over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until almost dry.
Ad 1 cup water (I used vegetable stock), and season with salt.
Cover, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, and transfer to large bowl.
Heat large pot over medium heat.
Add chicory, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until wilted, stirring frequently or tossing with tongs.
Add romaine, and wilt 1 to 2 minutes more.
Transfer greens to strainer, and squeeze out excess moisture.
Transfer to cutting board, and chop into small pieces.
Stir into quinoa.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat 1 tbsp. EVOO in skillet over medium-high heat.
Add onions, and sauté 10 minutes, or until browned.
Add cooked onions, green onions, dill, feta cheese, and goat cheese to quinoa mixture.
Stir in eggs; season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Pour 1 tbsp EVOO into 9" pie pan, and place in oven. hat 5 minutes, or until oil is hot. swirl oil to coat bottom of pan, then spread quinoa mixture in pan with spatula.
Bake 20 minutes.
Drizzle pie with remaining 1 tbsp EVOO, and bake 20 to 30 minutes more, or until golden brown.