This delicious Vegetable and Cheese Pie has a ton of flavor, crunch, and uses simple and fresh ingredients. It brings all the flavors of fall to your table.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 pound of fresh spinach leaves and push down to submerge them in the water. Cook for 1 minute, then drain the spinach well, squeezing out excess liquid.
Beat the egg with ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg; mix into the spinach. Set aside.
Cheese Filling
In a medium bowl, mix 1 pound cottage cheese, 1 egg, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
Carrot Filling
Peel and slice 1 pound of carrots. Place the sliced carrots and ½ teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring the carrots to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes or until carrots are tender. Drain off any excess water. Set aside.
Cabbage Filling
Cut one small head of red cabbage into half, then quarters. Remove the stem and, using a serrated knife or a mandolin, thinly slice/shred the cabbage quarters.
In a large skillet, heat two tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add ½ cup of chopped yellow onion and sauté until translucent, about 1-2 minutes.
Add cabbage to the skillet and, occasionally stirring, cook until tender and all liquid has evaporated about 10 minutes. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and set aside.
Assemble
Grease a 9-inch round (or square) baking pan that is at least 2 inches deep.
Place one fillo sheet in the pan. Edges of fillo should hang over the sides of the pan. Lightly brush the fillo sheet with oil. Continue to layer three more sheets of fillo brushing each layer with oil and rotating sheets to cover the pan.
Keep remaining sheets covered with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
Gently spread ⅓ of the sour cream over the top fillo sheet. Spoon the spinach filling evenly over the sour cream.
Layer two more sheets of fillo, brushing each layer with oil and rotating sheets to cover the pan. Cover the top pastry sheet with half of the remaining sour cream and cover evenly with cooked carrots.
Repeat the layering of oiled fillo and cheese (skipping sour cream in this layer) and then fillo, sour cream, and cabbage. Fold edges of fillo over the last filling. Cover with one folded sheet of fillo, or fold one or two sheets and coil on top for a prettier look. Brush the fillo with oil.
Lightly cover with aluminum foil and bake in 350 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, removing the foil halfway through baking. You want the top layer to have a beautiful golden brown color, so bake a few minutes more if necessary.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 20-30 minutes before cutting. Enjoy warm or cold.
Notes
The best way to quickly work with fillo is to separate sheets beforehand. That way, you don't have to fuss with them while trying to assemble your layers. So before you're ready to use them, separate sheets one by one, lightly roll each sheet (following its natural crease), and place them on a large cookie sheet (it's OK to stack them on top of each other). Cover with plastic wrap. It makes baking with fillo a breeze.
Don't worry about any tears in your fillo (or phyllo, filo - what's in a name?). They won't be visible once this easy vegetarian dish is done.
If you're using thin sheets of fillo that are great for baklava, you might have to add one or two sheets in each layer. See the tips in the post above for brand recommendation.
You can layer the fillings in any order.
Instead of cooking the spinach, sauté or steam it; you can also use frozen spinach - cook according to package direction.
To speed up cabbage cooking, cook it in salted water for about 5 minutes, drain well, and mix with sautéed onions. I prefer to cook them with onions (as indicated in the recipe) to have one less dirty dish.
Squeeze the heck out of those cooked vegetables, and then squeeze some more (dab the cooked carrots with paper towels)! You don't want a soggy pie!
The pie will fit into an 8-inch pan, too (which I used), but some dripping will occur. Place a foil-covered cookie sheet underneath the pan to catch it.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used and serving size.