Between the grocery stores putting flats and boxes of fruits on crazy outrageous sale prices, and neighbors asking us to help pick the abundant fruits falling off their trees, I have been a mad-jam-making woman in the kitchen this past week. Got Jam? Yes: Strawberry, Strawberry Peach, Peach, Peach Orange, Apple Cranberry, Pear Butter…You know what I’m giving for Christmas now…Shhh, don’t tell!
Other than mad-jam-making, I’m also currently training for a half, and training hard to PR–I’m determined to run this one sub-2 hours (I was 2 measley minutes over the last half I ran, so it’s in my head now…). I’ve upped my training schedule and cross-training schedule, and I’ve cut sugar. So a little jam + buttermilk biscuit is a nice treat at the end of a long day. And don’t tell me how much sugar is in jam. It’s fruit, right??!
And after jam + biscuits, you gotta have a veggie pie. This is a great pie to use up your summer veggies–zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, basil. And it makes a super pie for a crowd, or little individual pies for a small dinner. I decided to go individual.
Just roughly (rustically?) fit the pie dough into your pie plate or individual bowls, mix up the ricotta cheese with an egg and seasonings, layer the veggies on top, and you’ve got a veggie pie!
VEGGIE PIE
Adapted from Cooking Light
INGREDIENTS FOR THE PIE DOUGH
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 T sugar
- 6 T unsalted very cold butter
- 1/4 cup very cold vegetable shortening
- 4-5 T ice water
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced in thin rounds
- 1 medium yellow squash, sliced in thin rounds
- 1 medium red pepper, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, julienned
- 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 more egg, beaten (for brushing the pie dough before baking)
DIRECTIONS
- Start with the pie crust. Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the cold butter and shortening. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time. Stir together with a spoon until a ball of dough starts to form. Continue to form using your hands, kneading the dough together in 5-6 quick smooshes (The heat from your hands will melt the butter and shortening, and your dough won’t be as flaky, so work quickly!). Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Combine the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, basil, lemon zest and juice, and egg in a large mixing bowl. If you haven’t yet, this would be a good time to slice up the veggies. Put the sliced veggies in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a floured surface. Roll into one large disc to fit a 9-10-inch pie plate, or use to cut 4 smaller discs to fit 4-5-inch round baking dishes. Fit the dough into the baking dish, and spread the ricotta mixture over the bottom of the pie. If you are making one large pie, pour the veggies in the pie plate, overtop the ricotta mixture. If you are making individual pies, evenly divide the veggies among the four baking bowls.
- Fold the edges of the pie dough toward the middle of the pie. Brush the pie dough with the egg and bake at 400F for 40 minutes for a large pie, and 20-30 for the smaller pies.
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