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Spinach Pie for a Crowd

Source of Recipe

From "The New Essentials Cookbook" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"A buttery, flaky spinach pie can come in handy. It's a satisfying vegetarian main dish as well as the ideal party food. This Albanian-style version, creamier and more subtle than Greek spanakopita, might appear easy (and it is!), but it is sure to impress. For a crisp, layered crust, we didn't mess around with preparing our own dough; store-bought puff pastry came to our rescue. The filling was as simple as stirring frozen spinach and Parmesan into a béchamel sauce. We assembled our pie on a rimmed baking sheet, crimped the edges, and scored the top crust with a knife before baking. To thaw frozen puff pastry, let it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours or on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure the filling has cooled completely before assembling the pie."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
â—¦ 2 shallots, minced
â—¦ 4 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ ¼ cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 ½ cups whole milk
â—¦ 3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 ½ cups)
â—¦ 20 ounces frozen whole-leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon pepper
â—¦ 2 (9 ½ by 9-inch) sheets puff pastry, thawed
â—¦ 1 large egg, lightly beaten


Recipe

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until golden, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Off heat, stir in Parmesan until melted. Stir in spinach, salt, and pepper until combined. Transfer spinach mixture to bowl and let cool completely.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400° F. Grease rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle counter lightly with flour. Place one puff pastry sheet on counter and roll into 14 by 10-inch rectangle. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and unroll it onto prepared sheet. Spread spinach mixture evenly over dough, leaving ½-inch border. Brush border with egg.

Roll remaining puff pastry sheet into 14 by 10-inch rectangle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and unroll it over filling. Press edges of top and bottom sheets together to seal. Roll edge inward and use your fingers to crimp edge. Using sharp knife, cut top dough into 24 squares. Brush top dough evenly with egg.

Bake until crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let pie cool completely, about 30 minutes. Slide pie onto cutting board and cut along lines. Serve.

Serves 10 to 12