torta di foglie verdi
green leaf pie
I love this time of the year for all the winter greens growing in the veggie patch. Silverbeet, spinach, cavolo nero, cime di rapa, cabbage, cauliflower, fennel, broccoli, lettuce leaves and more. They all just seem to thrive on the crisp fresh mornings and chilly cold nights! Of course, many predominantly eat the leaves of silverbeet, spinach, cavolo nero and cabbage, however, it’s absolutely ideal to eat the leaves of all the other vegetables mentioned above too!
The leaves of broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, fennel fronds, and cime di rapa are all edible (but just remember to never eat rhubarb leaves – those ones are poisonous!). No waste is in my blood (with my Italian heritage) where every part of every ingredient is employed, and why wouldn’t you use the leaves of all these vegetables when the health benefits are so high, and too, the flavour. The stems are magnificent as well – why not pickle a cauliflower stem?!?! You can use all your green leaves in soups, pasta dishes, frittata, torte (pies) and more! You are truly limitless!
The leafy green vegetables from my kitchen garden
In my kitchen garden
This torta I share with you today, a made a few weeks ago now and posted it on my instagram page with many asking for its recipe. I usually make this pie with all the above mentioned green leaves, however, on this particular day, I decided upon silverbeet and cavolo nero – I truly had an abundant amount that needed to be consumed. Additionally, I can vary the other pie fillings; I may add in some bacon or goats cheese, leek, red onion, or whatever is basically sitting in my fridge or garden that needs eating! I love that this pie is so versatile and can be made to expend vegetables and ingredients on hand.
This pastry recipe is one that I use often for my savoury pies. It is a revised version of Matthew Evans’s (from Fat Pig Farm in Tasmania) yoghurt pastry recipe. It includes Greek style natural yoghurt – I use my own homemade natural yoghurt here and I love that I can do that! In addition, this pastry is layered with butter which is rubbed into the flour to aid in the flakiness of the pastry once cooked in the oven. Consequently, I always bake this pie in my medium size cast iron pan – the cast iron pan holds a hot even heat, which results in a pastry that is golden brown all over (eliminating soggy pastry base) and a flaky short bite from top to bottom. However, if you don’t have a cast iron pan, just use whatever pie tin you have! Just ensure your oven is really hot before entering the pie!
Ready for the oven. Filled with whatever green leaf vegetables are on hand.
A flaky yoghurt pastry that is delicious!Buon appetito!
[mpprecipe-recipe:107]
